{"id":13789,"date":"2019-05-31T08:49:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T08:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bensnaturalhealth.com\/blog\/?p=13789"},"modified":"2026-05-28T04:04:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:04:44","slug":"finasteride-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bensnaturalhealth.com\/blog\/prostate-health\/finasteride-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Finasteride to Treat an Enlarged Prostate"},"content":{"rendered":"An enlarged prostate is a condition that affects a large number of men, with the latest statistics showing that by the age 60, 50% of men will have some signs of BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia<\/a>).\n\n\n\n\n\nWhile this itself does not mean that you have prostate cancer, an enlarged prostate can result in many painful and embarrassing symptoms.\n\n\n\n\n\nTo resolve these symptoms of BPH, a drug by the name of Finasteride is commonly prescribed.\n\n\n\n\n\nHowever, a staggering amount of research has highlighted worrying side effects attributed to this popular drug.\n\n\n\n\n\nThis in-depth report will take a closer look at Finasteride and to what extent does its harm, rather than improve your prostate health.\n\n\n\n\n
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How was Finasteride created?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nRoy Vagelos, an American physician and business executive, who was president of the pharmaceutical company Merck & Co, initially developed Finasteride in 1975.\n\n\n\n\n\nHis inspiration stemmed from a report he read, written by Dr.Julianne Imperato-McGinley, an endocrinologist at Cornell Medical College.\n\n\n\n\n\nDr. Imperato reported a condition suffered by children from a small village in the Dominican Republic.\n\n\n\n\n\nA number of these children appeared sexually ambiguous at birth and were initially raised as girls.\n\n\n\n\n\nHowever, shortly after puberty, they grew external male genitalia and other masculine characteristics.\n\n\n\n\n\nThis breaking research discovered that these children shared a genetic mutation. The mutation caused a deficiency of an enzyme that transforms testosterone into dihydrotestosterone<\/a> (DHT).\n\n\n\n\n\nDHT is, of course, a more potent form of testosterone that drives puberty in young boys and prostatic tissue growth in older men.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe name of the affected enzyme was 5-\u03b1lpha reductase. The low levels of DHT caused these kids to lack sexual characteristics, including external testicles and a penis.\n\n\n\n\n\nDuring puberty, the natural increase in testosterone levels<\/a> allowed sexual differentiation, but there were some differences for normal individuals.\n\n\n\n\n\nOne of them was an affected prostate, which was much smaller than normal and under-developed. Later on in life, they also seemed to lack the incidence of male pattern baldness<\/a>.\n\n\n\n\n\nBased on this investigation, Merck & Co wanted to create a drug that would produce the same being prostate shrinking<\/a> and male pattern baldness preventing effects.\n\n\n\n\n\nThis led to the development of Finasteride, approved in 1992 by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of BPH<\/a>.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe drug was marketed under the brand name Proscar, and in 1997, Merck obtained FDA approval for a second lower-dose version for the treatment of Male Pattern Baldness (MPB).\n\n\n\n\n\nThis was marketed under the brand name Propecia.\n\n\n\n\n
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For more information on treatments for BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia), click here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How does Finasteride work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nFinasteride is a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor, meaning it prevents the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase from converting testosterone<\/a> into DHT.\n\n\n\n\n\nProstate growth and size are mainly dependent on DHT levels.\n\n\n\n\n\nThere are two types of 5 \u03b1lpha-reductase; type 1, which is present in the tissue, such as liver or skin and type 2, which is the predominant type present in the prostate.\n\n\n\n\n\nThis enzyme is critical to the normal development of the prostate and hyperplastic growth later in life.\n\n\n\n\n\nFinasteride acts as an inhibitor of type 2 5\u03b1-reductase enzyme.\n\n\n\n\n\nStudies<\/a> have revealed that Finasteride reduces intraprostatic DHT levels by 91.4%.\n\n\n\n\n\nHowever, despite the concerns about this substantial reduction, advocates and Merck have argued Finasteride does not reduce DHT level <\/a>so much as to castrate you chemically.\n\n\n\n\n\nThis is because circulating testosterone is converted to DHT by the type 1 isoenzyme, existing in the skin and liver.\n\n\n\n\n\nThis being said, Finasteride might have the worst sexual side effects of all of the drugs examined in this report.\n\n\n\n\n\nBy lowering DHT levels<\/a>, Finasteride actively decreases the size of the prostate. However, this process takes between three and six months before the clinical effects kick in, and the prostate reduces in size.\n\n\n\n\n\nTherefore, the efficacy of Finasteride and 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors cannot be felt until a patient has been on the medication for a very long period of time.\n\n\n\n\n\nUnfortunately, side effects<\/a> can begin to manifest in a matter of days or weeks and can get worse over time.\n\n\n\n\n\nFinasteride is most often prescribed for men with substantially enlarged prostates, prostates above 40 or 50 grams.\n\n\n\n\n\nThese are men who are at the greatest risk of disease progression, experience moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms<\/a>, and acute urinary retention.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Is Finasteride safe? Does it have side effects?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nTo evaluate the safety of Finasteride, a 4-year placebo-controlled study<\/a> of 1,524 patients treated with Finasteride and 1516 patients treated with placebo were followed over a period of 4 years.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe most frequently reported adverse reactions were related to sexual function.\n\n\n\n\n