Finasteride Has Been Out for 20 Years and Suddenly There’s Negative Media Attention?

I have been on a 1/4 pill Proscar for 5 years now with great results and no noted side effects. I am becoming increasingly concerned with the increased media attention finasteride has been receiving in regards to permanent sexual side effects. But what I don’t understand is that proscar has been on the market since 1992, and no major studies were found that this causes permanent side effects at 5 times the dose?

I think you are correct in your assessment on the media hype. I agree that it is strange to see this all this media hype when Proscar, which is FIVE times the strength of Propecia, has almost no media coverage.

I can perhaps speculate or give you my personal experience and opinion. Sex sells — it garners media and public interest. Moreover tragedies, fear, and bad things also get the media buzzing. Our media is filled with controversy that sensationalize tragic stories (real or otherwise). So one study about Propecia (that collected its information from surveying men on a Propecia complaint forum and was a not really even a true research paper, reporting some 50 people) caught the eye of the news media.

More specifically, I was even personally contacted by a producer of the Anderson Cooper talk show, asking me if any patients would be willing to speak about their experience with Propecia. After I obtained permission from a few patients, I gave their contact info to the TV producers. It turns out they were trying to select only patients that had a negative opinion about Propecia in return for free airfare and hotel room in NYC. None of my patients were chosen (because none of them had anything bad to say) and instead the show sensationalized the topic by interviewing a transgendered individual. It’s disappointing, but this is the type of thing the media does to attract interest from viewers.