Young men who are under the therapy of drugs use to manage hair loss and enlarged prostate may suffer from long-term erectile dysfunction (ED). The study was pioneered by Dr. Steven Belknap, a research assistant professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
Men under age 42 who are taking the said drugs for more than 205 days are most likely to have a long-term erectile dysfunction compared to men who took the drug for less than 205 days. According to Live Science, one of the drugs that cause the condition is finasteride. Sold under the brand names Propecia and Proscar, finasteride is a drug taken for hair growth and enlarge prostate.
Another drug known as dutasteride used to shrink enlarged prostate was also taken into account. The study suggests that men who take finasteride and dutasteride can suffer from persistent erectile dysfunction, as stated by Belknap. The said condition is manifested by abnormal erections for months or even years after stopping both drugs.
Furthermore, as reported by Mayo Clinic, erectile dysfunction is the inability to get and sustain a firm erection for sex. The condition causes stress in men and might affect self-confidence and contributes to relationship problems. Symptoms of the ED include; trouble getting an erection, trouble keeping an erection, and reduced sexual desire.
The researchers have studied more than 12,000 men in the database of medical records for patients treated at Northwestern Medicine. They focused on men aging from 16 to 89 who were under finateride and dutasteride at least once from 1992 to 2013. The study considered factors such as; dosage and duration of drug use, diagnoses of low libido and erectile dysfunction.
The results suggested that 167 of the men (1.4 percent) who were under finateride and dutasteride developed long-term erectile dysfunction that lasted for about three to half years after they stopped taking the drug. The length of time is a better predictor than other medical conditions that has been linked with ED such as hypertension and diabetes.
