Health
Hair loss and prostate medication could also reduce heart disease risk, study finds
A drug that has long been used to treat two common men’s health conditions could have some unexpected benefits.
Finasteride — more commonly known as Propecia or Proscar — has treated male pattern baldness and enlarged prostate in millions of men.
In a recent study, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have also linked the “miracle drug” to cholesterol-lowering effects and reduced heart disease risk.
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The findings, published in the Journal of Lipid Research, showed lower cholesterol levels among men who took the drug — on average, 30 points less than men who were not on the medication.
The data was initially collected as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2009 and 2016.
A drug that has long been used to treat two common men’s health conditions could have some unexpected benefits. (iStock)
Then, in a study of mice, use of the drug for 12 weeks — along with a high-fat, high-cholesterol “Western” diet — was linked to reduced cholesterol, slower buildup of plaque in the arteries and reduced liver inflammation, among other benefits.
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“The most surprising finding was the human data,” lead study author Jaume Amengual, assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois, told Fox News Digital.
“When we observed the association with finasteride and plasma lipids, we decided to do our mouse study.”
Drug’s benefits and side effects
As a hair loss treatment, finasteride works by blocking a protein found in hair follicles — and as an enlarged prostate treatment, the drug blocks the prostate gland that activates testosterone.
Atherosclerosis, which occurs when cholesterol plaques build up in the arteries and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, is most prevalent among men.
As a hair loss treatment, finasteride works by blocking a protein found in hair follicles. (iStock)
Some experts have linked the male hormone testosterone to the heart condition.
The potential hormonal effect prompted the researchers to explore whether the medication could also reduce heart disease risk, Amengual said.
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Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in the study but commented on the implications of finasteride.
“It stops testosterone from turning into dihydrotestosterone and thereby stops hair loss and also shrinks the prostate by 25%,” he said.
Side effects can include depression, anxiety and impotence, the doctor added.
In response to the drug being found to lower cholesterol and decrease heart disease risk, a doctor called for more research to confirm the findings. (iStock)
Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurologist and longevity expert who was also not involved in the study, offered his insights on the uses and risks associated with the drug.
“Finasteride in normal dosages — 1 to 5 mg daily, depending upon the indication — has intolerable side effects in many,” he said.
“Finasteride in normal dosages has intolerable side effects in many.”
The drug works by lowering levels of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) in order to have the desired effect on the prostate gland and hair follicles, he said, “but it can also strip a man of his energy, virility, libido and motivation.”
Study limitations and next steps
The study did have some limitations, the researchers noted.
Out of nearly 4,800 total participants, only 155 were finasteride users, all of whom were men over 50. The survey also did not determine the duration or amount of the doses.
As an enlarged prostate treatment, finasteride blocks the prostate gland that activates testosterone. (iStock)
“We also did not examine the effects of finasteride in women or female mice,” Amengual said.
“However, this drug is not prescribed for women, as it could be dangerous during pregnancy.”
“This drug could be another tool in the fight against cardiovascular diseases.”
The next step is to track cholesterol levels of patients taking finasteride or to launch a clinical trial to confirm the link.
“There is still so much to discover on how finasteride works in our body,” Amengual noted. “But based on our findings, this drug could be another tool in the fight against cardiovascular diseases.”
The drug works by lowering levels of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) in order to have the desired effect on the prostate gland and hair follicles, which can cause side effects in some men, a doctor noted. (iStock)
In response to the drug being found to lower cholesterol and decrease heart disease risk, Siegel also called for more research.
“Much larger studies are needed in humans to confirm these findings before you would ever consider using this drug for cardioprevention,” he said.
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“It may end up being useful for this purpose in the elderly, who are at higher risk of heart attacks and strokes, as an add-on statin therapy.”
In addition to the study’s small size, Osborn noted that it was performed retrospectively — “meaning there was no control group(s), and that random effects, unbeknownst to the researchers, may have swayed the results in one direction,” he told Fox News Digital.
Dr. Marc Siegel, left, and Dr. Brett Osborn both shared insights on finasteride’s uses and side effects. (Dr. Marc Siegel | Dr. Brett Osborn)
“That said, the authors’ observations are interesting and demand further investigation,” Osborn went on.
“After all, lipid-lowering agents are one of the mainstays of cardiovascular risk reduction — and most Americans die vascular deaths.”
This study doesn’t mean that every male should start taking finasteride, Osborn cautioned.
Instead, he recommends getting regular exercise, increasing daily fiber intake to 25 grams and taking high doses of omega-3 fatty acids to reduce cardiovascular risk.
“For now, skip the finasteride as a lipid-lowering agent,” he advised. “As it stands now, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.”
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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