Study from 2008 Finds Finasteride Doesn’t Lead to Erectile Dysfunction to a Significant Degree
Hey doctors,
I know there’s all this debate about Propecia and ED……and whether or not there’s a placebo effect or the power of suggestion at play. Have you seen this study from 2008?Link: The effect of 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors on erectile function
This was published in the Journal of Andrology in late 2008, but I don’t remember if we wrote about it before. Thanks for sending in the link.
Based on this study, finasteride was associated with a significantly higher proportion of erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients that were informed of possible erectile side effects as compared with patients for whom the same information was withheld. For patients taking the 5mg finasteride to treat BPH, the incidence of ED was 9.6% for the group without counseling and 30.9% for the group with counseling (source: Mondaini et al, 2007).
The abstract concludes: “We conclude that 5 a-reductase inhibitors do not lead to erectile dysfunction to a significant degree, and we support the position that dihydrotestosterone is less relevant than testosterone in erectile function.”
This study has a very poorly crafted research design. This study only really tells us that more men reported erectile dysfunction when informed that this effect can be caused by finasteride. There is nothing about this study that tells us WHY this is the case. From a basic understanding of the nature of male humans, they derive an inordinate amount of self image from their virility. If informed they would be amongst other men who were suffering from the same problem, they would be much more likely to volunteer this information rather than if they were led to believe it was an unrelated symptom. While the original poster is hinting at the conclusion that the nocebo effect is at play, that conclusion cannot be drawn from this study without an overhaul of the study design.
Finasteride is really a poor treatment for AGA…
why do say that Jerome?
Because we are in XXI century and propecia and minoxidil are the only two options for MPB. And the two drugs have a lot of side effects in the human body, and the results are insignificant That’s all.