Post-Finasteride Syndrome (PFS): A Surmountable Challenge for Clinicians and a Newfound Hope for Patients

ENCINO, Calif., Sept. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Millennium Health Centers' Dr. Mark L. Gordon is internationally well-known as a leader in the challenge to develop the approach by which individuals suffering with symptoms associated with traumatic and non-traumatic brain injuries are assessed and then treated. In the course of this work, Dr. Gordon was introduced to a new group of patients representing a prototypical form of non-traumatic brain injury arising from the use of a medication, in this case, Finasteride.

Finasteride, originally released in 1992 as a medication to shrink enlargement of the prostate by blocking the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), was also found to decrease hair loss by decreasing DHT in the scalp. Benefits of DHT also include helping muscle growth and strength while in the brain it improves memory and libido.

Although there have been hundreds of thousands of men who have used Finasteride over the years to diminish hair loss, only a small percentage of these individuals developed symptoms that have included; muscle weakness (56%), muscle pain, muscle spasms, loss of muscle mass, poor exercise tolerance, depression (20%), suicide ideation (44%), anxiety, brain fog (75%), loss of self-esteem, panic attacks, erectile dysfunction (83%), lack of sensation (80%), and lack of libido (96%). These symptoms can arise during or after the use of Finasteride and are being referred to as the Post-Finasteride Syndrome (PFS).

Curiously, some men develop PFS only after a few doses of Finasteride while others have taken it for years before symptoms develop. The question of what protects the vast majority of men from developing symptoms has still not been resolved.  Nonetheless, in a review of PFS cases, a common denominator keeps appearing which is a history of a physical traumatic injury or concussion which does not need to be associated with loss of consciousness. As a generality, it appears that the greater the injury, the more sensitive and pronounced are the symptoms associated with the use of Finasteride.

In comparing PFS patients symptoms with those of veterans and civilians who sustained a traumatic brain injury, their complaints were nearly identical and when you compare the results of their laboratory bio-marker panel of neurosteroids and neuroactive steroids, their deficits (insufficiencies and deficiencies) were identical. Ultimately, when the Millennium's TBI treatment protocol was applied to those with PFS, their benefits paralleled those that are seen with traumatic brain injury.

Understanding that Finasteride inhibits the enzyme 5-alpha reductase (5AR), which is responsible for the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone and progesterone to allopregnanolone, treatment must be geared to reverse these blocked pathways using products that can get into the brain and simultaneously replenish the deficiencies induced by Finasteride and reestablish a healthy neuropermissive environment. The damage is in the brain and not in the body, and that is why many of the standard treatment protocols do not achieve the ultimate goal of reversing the symptoms induced by Finasteride's blocking of DHT and Allopregnanolone.

The Millennium Health Centers, using the science of neuroendocrinology, has developed a laboratory blood test panel and treatment that has provided relief to many with debilitating effects from the short- and long-term use of Finasteride as well as with Dutasteride.

Additional information on the Post-finasteride Syndrome as well as ongoing information about treatment options can be obtained at the PFS Foundation: https://www.pfsfoundation.org

The Millennium Health Centers, Inc. developed a Neuro-Regenerative program that involves the assessment and treatment of both traumatic brain injury and non-traumatic brain injury symptoms which may include depression, anxiety, lost libido, insomnia, migraines, obsessive-compulsive disorders, bipolar disorder, cognitive disorders, physical weakness, Parkinson's, and dementia conditions. Many of these can present years after the initial injury which frequently is never considered.

Read some of the science at: https://tbihelpnow.org/the-science

About Dr. Mark L. Gordon

Dr. Mark L. Gordon is the founder and medical director of Millennium Health Centers, Inc. in Encino, California. In 2015, Dr. Gordon released the book, "Traumatic Brain Injury - A Clinical Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment" that presents the science and his experience treating all precipitating causes of traumatic brain injury in both active military, veteran, sports, and civilian populations. Dr. Gordon has also joined with the Warrior Angels Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded by veterans Andrew and Adam Marr to provide medical services to members of the armed forces both active duty and veterans. For more information, visit TBIHelpNow.org.

Media Contact
Mark L. Gordon, M.D., Founder and Medical Director
[email protected]

SOURCE Millennium Health Centers, Inc