Baldness drug finasteride 'cuts men's drinking'

Conclusion This relatively small study in a very select group of men provides only limited evidence of the effects of finasteride on alcohol consumption in men. Its limitations include: The study didn’t include a comparison group not taking the drug. Therefore, the result cannot conclusively show that the drug itself is definitely causing a change in alcohol consumption, rather than the men just having changing alcohol tolerance as they got older. The study asked men to remember what their alcohol consumption was before taking the drug – on average about five years previously. This is likely to be less reliable as men may not accurately remember their consumption in the past. Asking the men to keep an alcohol diary before and after they started taking the drug would be a more reliable approach. The study only used a crude assessment of the number of drinks consumed, the size and alcohol content of these drinks may vary and this could affect comparison of before and after findings. The study did not say exactly how men were selected to take part, or whether they knew the purpose of the study. The men’s responses may have altered if they knew that finasteride may have an effect on alcohol consumption. The men all had persistent sexual dysfunction following taking finasteride for male pattern hair loss. The results may not apply to other men taking the drug, for example those without these side effects, or those taking it for an enlarged prostate. ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news