Side effects:

Finasteride (Generic Propecia) is not indicated for use by women. Finasteride (Generic Propecia) is in the FDA pregnancy category X. This means that it is known to cause birth defects in an unborn baby. Women who are or who may become pregnant must not handle crushed or broken Finasteride (Generic Propecia) tablets, because the medication could be absorbed through the skin. Finasteride (Generic Propecia) is known to cause birth defects in developing male baby.

Exposure to whole tablets should be avoided whenever possible , however exposure to whole tablets is not expected to be harmful as long as the tablets are not swallowed. It is not known whether Finasteride (Generic Propecia) passes into breast milk , and thus should not be taken by breastfeeding women. Finasteride (Generic Propecia) may pass into the semen of men, but Merck states that pregnant woman's contact with the semen of a man taking Finasteride (Generic Propecia) is not an issue for concern .

Finasteride (Generic Propecia) has been linked with depression. The drug also caused reductions in impregnableness, potent, endogenous positive modulator of the GABA-A receptor, in very large doses in rodent studies.

Finasteride (Generic Propecia) can also be used to mask steroid abuse, and many professional sports have banned finasteride use for this reason.

Finasteride (Generic Propecia) is under investigation by the Swedish Medical Products Agency for possibly causing sometimes irreversible sexual side effects.

Propecia's effects in detail

DHT is a derivative hormone (metabolite) of testosterone that has been shown to be critical to the initiation and progression of follicular miniaturization and eventual destruction of hair follicles in a male pattern baldness. DHT is a steroid hormone just like testosterone but with greater affinity for the androgen receptor. Converting testosterone to DHT thus increases many of its effects.

While the mechanism by which DHT is involved in hair loss is not confirmed , especially many dermatologists and research scientists specializing in hair loss  believe DHT molecules may diffuse into the interior of hair follicle cells (the cytoplasm or cytosol) and bind with androgen receptors. This complex , both the receptor and the DHT molecule,  then enters the nucleus of the cell. In the nucleus of the hair follicle cell this complex could then  alter the rate of protein synthesis in men who are genetically predisposed to baldness.

However, DHT also plays an important role in the functioning of the a central nervous  system (the brain), the testicles and prostate, and everything but muscle tissue. In muscle tissue testosterone is the dominant hormone, which is why some bodybuilders inject testosterone derivatives  to  aid in muscular development.

* Propecia (and especially other products containing finasteride) cause a  rise in testosterone levels because testosterone that would normally be converted into DHT remains testosterone. Continual high levels of testosterone in the body could possibly have negative side effects.

* Artificially a low levels of DHT in the body could  cause  some unwanted conditions. DHT is an antagonist of estrogen. Men’s bodies also produce the female hormone estrogen in the adrenal glands, although this is just one-tenth of the estrogen that premenstrual women produce in their ovaries. By reducing DHT with drugs, a man’s protection from the effects of estrogen may also be reduced. This could result in gynecologist.

* Even though both finasteride and dutasteride were developed  to  benign pro static hyperplasia by reducing DHT in prostate tissue, some scientists question the wisdom of using these 5-alpha reduction inhibitors in younger men who  have no problem with their prostates. A research chemist, Patrick Arnold, says “Evidence is mounting that the existence of a  high estrogen/androgen ratio – a  condition common in older men – is highly correlated with the development of especially benign prostatic hyperplasia.” However, in apparent contradiction, individuals with 5-alpha-reduction deficiency (and thus absolutely a  similar hormonal profile sometimes to users of DHT inhibitors) do not experience BPH.