Health
Finasteride: Unexpected Heart Health Benefits Unveiled in Study
Finasteride, a drug widely recognized under the brand names Propecia and Proscar, has been a go-to treatment for male pattern baldness and enlarged prostate for countless men. However, recent research has unveiled some unexpected benefits of this medication.
A study conducted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has linked this “miracle drug” to cholesterol-lowering effects and a decrease in heart disease risk. The research, published in the Journal of Lipid Research, revealed that men who used the drug had, on average, 30 points lower cholesterol levels than those who did not.
This data was originally gathered as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2009 and 2016. Further research involving mice showed that the use of the drug for 12 weeks, in conjunction with a high-fat, high-cholesterol “Western” diet, resulted in reduced cholesterol, slower plaque buildup in the arteries, and decreased liver inflammation, among other benefits.
“The most surprising finding was the human data,” said Jaume Amengual, lead study author and assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois. “When we observed the association with finasteride and plasma lipids, we decided to do our mouse study.”
Finasteride works as a hair loss treatment by blocking a protein found in hair follicles. When treating an enlarged prostate, the drug inhibits the prostate gland that activates testosterone. Given that atherosclerosis, a condition characterized by cholesterol plaque buildup in the arteries, is most prevalent among men and has been linked to the male hormone testosterone, the researchers were prompted to investigate whether the medication could also reduce heart disease risk.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, who was not involved in the study, explained the implications of finasteride. “It stops testosterone from turning into dihydrotestosterone and thereby stops hair loss and also shrinks the prostate by 25%,” he said. However, he cautioned that side effects can include depression, anxiety, and impotence.
Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurologist and longevity expert, also not involved in the study, provided his insights on the drug. “Finasteride in normal dosages — 1 to 5 mg daily, depending upon the indication — has intolerable side effects in many,” he said. “It can also strip a man of his energy, virility, libido, and motivation.”
The study did have some limitations, the researchers noted. Out of nearly 4,800 total participants, only 155 were finasteride users, all of whom were men over 50. The survey also did not determine the duration or amount of the doses. “We also did not examine the effects of finasteride in women or female mice,” Amengual said. “However, this drug is not prescribed for women, as it could be dangerous during pregnancy.”
Despite these limitations, the researchers are optimistic about the potential of finasteride in combating cardiovascular diseases. “There is still so much to discover on how finasteride works in our body,” Amengual noted. “But based on our findings, this drug could be another tool in the fight against cardiovascular diseases.”
In response to the drug being found to lower cholesterol and decrease heart disease risk, Siegel also called for more research. “Much larger studies are needed in humans to confirm these findings before you would ever consider using this drug for cardioprevention,” he said. “It may end up being useful for this purpose in the elderly, who are at higher risk of heart attacks and strokes, as an add-on statin therapy.”
Osborn also pointed out that the study was performed retrospectively, meaning there was no control group, and random effects unknown to the researchers could have influenced the results. “That said, the authors’ observations are interesting and demand further investigation,” Osborn stated. “After all, lipid-lowering agents are one of the mainstays of cardiovascular risk reduction — and most Americans die vascular deaths.”
Osborn cautioned that this study does not mean every male should start taking finasteride. Instead, he recommends regular exercise, increasing daily fiber intake to 25 grams, and taking high doses of omega-3 fatty acids to reduce cardiovascular risk. “For now, skip the finasteride as a lipid-lowering agent,” he advised. “As it stands now, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.”
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