Does Propecia cause depression?

After the report by Reuters, the domestic controversy spread

It has already been reflected in the package insert such as Korea and Europe, and has not been directly proven to have a causal relationship

It has already been reflected in the package insert such as Korea and Europe, and has not been directly proven to have a causal relationship.

 

There was another controversy that the hair loss drug Propecia causes depression.

 

Reuters reported on the 3rd (local time) of the lawsuit filed in the Brooklyn Federal Court of New York in connection with the side effects of Propecia.

 

Since 2009, more than 200 cases of depression among people taking Propecia (Finasteride) have been received, and the developer MSD (Merck, USA) has covered up this.

 

After the report, numerous Korean media spread the content, and in fact, there were even reports that Propecia could cause depression and suicide.

 

This is an exaggeration.

 

Prediction causes controversy, and controversy distorts facts.

 

No one can define as 'true' in the current situation.

 

The issue is whether MSD has concealed the reported adverse reaction cases and prevented the information from being reflected in US permits.

 

Reports of abnormal cases cannot prove a causal relationship with the product.

 

It cannot be concluded that the drug is the cause of the adverse event because an abnormal event has occurred after taking the drug.

 

Brigham and Women's Hospital in US, for example, published an analysis that suggests that Propecia, a mechanism that inhibits the enzyme, may be associated with depression, based on the low levels of Allopregnanolone produced by the 5-alpha-reductase in male depressed patients.

 

In a study published in the Dominican Republic of genetically followed patients with 5-alpha-reductase type 2 deficiency, there was also a study finding that there was no significant difference in depression or suicide frequency between the general population and the corresponding patient group.

 

Kwang-sung Choi, chairman of Korean Hair Research Society (Professor of Dermatology at Inha University Hospital) said, "The reports of adverse reactions from Propecia mentioned in foreign news articles are the cumulative number of voluntary reports related to depression that occurred around the world for about 10 years since its launch in the US in 1998." He said, “Adverse reactions such as depression or suicide risk can be complexed by social, psychological, and economic factors in addition to medical factors.

 

Depression-related cases that have occurred to date are simply those that occurred while taking drugs or were reported voluntarily.” So, did MSD really 'cover up' the facts?

 

It is an obligation, not an option, for pharmaceutical companies to collect and report adverse events after obtaining marketing approval from health authorities and distributing them.

 

The WHO's global adverse reaction database,'VigiBase', has already reported cases of Propecia's depression and mood swings.

 

As mentioned by Reuters, cases of adverse reactions reported in Europe and Canada are already reflected in licenses and product manuals, and the MFDS also inserted the phrase 'depression and mood swings including suicide thoughts' in 2017.

 

No country has stipulated that Propecia causes depression or mood swings.

 

Taken together, it means that MSD has only concealed the phrase inserted in the permits already reflected in many countries in the US.

 

It is also a drug that has been prescribed for over 20 years.

 

Rather than taking the side of MSD, if it intentionally conceals facts, its morality should be blamed.

 

In Korea, many people with hair loss are taking Propecia and are trembling with anxiety over this controversy.

 

Chairman Kwang-Sung Choi said, "Propecia is a Rx drug.

 

Hair loss diseases can be effectively and safely treated by treatment and prescription by specialists, and side effects are also managed through treatment.

 

It is more damaging to stop hair loss treatment or receive the wrong treatment due to excessive fear of side effects or unproven claims.”