Proscar (finasteride)

Finasteride is an inhibtor of 5a-reductase, which is the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone into DHT, thereby minimizing the unwanted androgenic effects that result from its presence. The effect of this drug is very fast acting, and suppresses DHT levels by as much as 65% within a 24 hour period of taking a single 1mg tablet. Medically, this drug is used to treat benign prostate enlargement and male pattern hair loss. It is also being investigated for the treatment of hair and facial growth on the face and body of women. Male athletes and bodybuilders are interested in ministered for tis ability to reduce the androgenic side effects associated with the use of testosterone and certain derivatives. The first release of this drug in the United States was under the brand name of Proscar and was produced by the pharmaceutical company Merck and approved by the FDA in 1992. It was specifically given approval for use by patients with benign prostate enlargement.

In terms of the use of finasteride for steroid users, it would be related to the easing of several androgenic side effects often associated with the use of some anabolic and androgenic steroids. Of course due to the originally intended medical purpose of the drug steroid users suffering from prostate conditions due to their anabolic steroid use could be well served to use a drug such as finasteride. This will likely ease some of the discomfort caused by the activity of the DHT in the prostate tissue and related conditions. Similarly the androgenic activity of DHT in the scalp leading to hair loss can also prevented in some males with the use of a reductase inhibitor like finasteride. If the hair loss experienced by the user is related to an increase in the concentration and/or level of DHT in the tissue the administration of finasteride can help to reduce or prevent the severity of this side effect. A third side effect that the drug may help with is oily skin and/or acne. This androgenic side effect may be prevented or at the very least reduced in severity with the administration of finasteride. However, anecdotally the results of this have been mixed to say the least and relatively few users administer the drug for this purpose. For many these actions of finasteride will seem very similar to that of another reductase inhibitor, namely dutasteride. However these drugs do have differences. The major difference between them is that dutasteride targets both Type I and Type II 5-alpha reductase. Finasteride only targets Type II. Type I is more heavily concentrated in the liver and skin while Type II is found most prevalently in male reproductive organs. By targeting both types of the enzyme, dutasteride is better capable of reducing more DHT then finasteride and is therefore thought to be more efficient and effective by most. Despite this, it is still not as popular as finasteride but this is likely due to dutasteride having been on the market for a much shorter time as well as not currently being approved medically for use as a preventative measure against male pattern baldness. Finasteride has also been used as a so-called “masking agent” by some steroid users who are tested either via urine or blood. While the mechanism by which this is accomplished will not be discussed in this profile, it should however be noted that most organizations now recognize this fact and will test for finasteride along with anabolic steroids. For this reason users of finasteride who may be tested for such substances should be aware of this fact beforehand.

Bodybuilders looking to use this drug to prevent hair loss from excess DHT and other issues will usually take the drug in a dosage of 1mg per day for as long as the cycle of anabolic/androgenic steroids last.