dgpw
Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2026
- Messages
- 31
- Reaction score
- 19
If you don’t know medicinal chemistry dnr or something
Finasteride is a 4-azasteroid used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia and male pattern baldness. A 4-azasteroid is a synthetic version of a steroid molecule that replaced a carbon atom with a nitrogen atom. This replacement is important because it turns the molecule into a 5α-reductase blocker. Testosterone converts into dihydrotestosterone using the 5AR enzyme and, in men prone to male pattern baldness, this process can lead to thinning, hairline recession, and gradual hair loss.
What’s good about finasteride is that it does stabilize hair loss and helps promote regrowth by inhibiting type II 5AR which, in turn, lowers the scalps DHT levels by ~60-70%. This process halts the shrinking of hair follicles caused by high DHT levels and allows for these shrunken follicles to recover and prolong their anagen (growth) phase. There are also sustained, long-term benefits found when using finasteride.
The downsides of finasteride are few but still need to be noted. Some randomized trials found an increased risk of decreased libido, ED, and even ejaculation problems. The frequency is around 1-8% with very low relative risk. Another thing that has to be noted is the concern of post-finasteride syndrome. A small subset of study participants reported persistent ED, low libido, and other symptoms after stopping finasteride. With that being said, finasteride is more of a long-term treatment with benefits, such as DHT suppression and hair count, reversing within a year of discontinuation.
All in all, there are little downsides to taking finasteride. The positives of finasteride significantly outweigh the negatives with most negatives being found in very little cases. I suppose this is why finasteride is an FDA-approved medication. There is robust evidence supporting strong efficacy for the effects finasteride claims to have making it all the better. With this being said, finasteride is a high-reward but non-zero-risk medication.
Finasteride is a 4-azasteroid used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia and male pattern baldness. A 4-azasteroid is a synthetic version of a steroid molecule that replaced a carbon atom with a nitrogen atom. This replacement is important because it turns the molecule into a 5α-reductase blocker. Testosterone converts into dihydrotestosterone using the 5AR enzyme and, in men prone to male pattern baldness, this process can lead to thinning, hairline recession, and gradual hair loss.
What’s good about finasteride is that it does stabilize hair loss and helps promote regrowth by inhibiting type II 5AR which, in turn, lowers the scalps DHT levels by ~60-70%. This process halts the shrinking of hair follicles caused by high DHT levels and allows for these shrunken follicles to recover and prolong their anagen (growth) phase. There are also sustained, long-term benefits found when using finasteride.
This study was run on men with androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness)
The downsides of finasteride are few but still need to be noted. Some randomized trials found an increased risk of decreased libido, ED, and even ejaculation problems. The frequency is around 1-8% with very low relative risk. Another thing that has to be noted is the concern of post-finasteride syndrome. A small subset of study participants reported persistent ED, low libido, and other symptoms after stopping finasteride. With that being said, finasteride is more of a long-term treatment with benefits, such as DHT suppression and hair count, reversing within a year of discontinuation.
All in all, there are little downsides to taking finasteride. The positives of finasteride significantly outweigh the negatives with most negatives being found in very little cases. I suppose this is why finasteride is an FDA-approved medication. There is robust evidence supporting strong efficacy for the effects finasteride claims to have making it all the better. With this being said, finasteride is a high-reward but non-zero-risk medication.
