Patients treated for male pattern hair with finasteride show, after discontinuation of the drug, altered levels of neuroactive steroids in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma
Caruso et al., 2014
“Data here reported clearly show that the blockade of 5-alpha reductase by finasteride induces not only as previously described a decrease of progesterone and Testosterone metabolite levels during the treatment, but it may also induce a persistent alteration of neuroactive steroid levels despite discontinuation of the drug.”
In an expansion of a prior pilot investigation, the levels of neuroactive steroids in both cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of seven post-finasteride syndrome patients were compared with those of twelve male age-matched controls in a pilot investigation to evaluate whether neuroactive steroids could be persistently disrupted in PFS patients.
In comparison with the healthy controls, the PFS patients presented a significantly different neuroactive steroid pattern. Tetrahydroprogesterone and isopregnanolone were under detection limit in all three patients. DHT was lower, while testosterone, pregnenolone and 17β-estradiol was higher.
In contrast, in plasma, a decrease in dihydroprogesterone levels was recorded, as well as an increase of pregnenolone, testosterone, 3α-Androstanediol and 3β-Androstanediol and 17β-estradiol.
The authors considered this a basis for subsequent study of neuroactive steroid levels in PFS patients, as persistent changes in these neuroactive steroid levels could be involved in the anxious/depressive symptoms that form a part of the post-finasteride syndrome.
