A recent report that President Trump takes a medication to prevent hair loss has sparked interest in the drug. In an interview with the New York Times, Mr. Trump’s physician, Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, stated that the President takes finasteride, marketed as Propecia.
The drug, a once-a-day pill that addresses male-pattern hair loss, is better at curbing hair loss than bringing back what has gone. It works by blocking an enzyme that converts testosterone into a male hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT), to which hair follicles in certain men are sensitive.
Finasteride was originally prescribed for prostate enlargement, that is until balding patients began noticing that their hair was growing back. Or at least not disappearing at the rate it once was. The drug has side effects – decreased sex drive, erectile disfunction, and low output of ejaculate. Serious reactions for sure, but they have affected only 2% of the men in the studies.
The drug also carries a warning that men 55 and over who take it may have an increased risk of an aggressive type of prostate cancer. But the warning is based on studies of a dose to treat enlarged prostates, which is five times the amount recommended to treat hair loss. Risks, if there are any, for taking the smaller dose is not yet know, according to doctors.
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Read the original article online: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/health/donald-trump-hair-growth-drug-propecia.html
