(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Han Seong-gan = Research results have shown that finasteride (product name: Propecia, Proscar), a treatment for hair loss and benign prostatic hyperplasia, is also effective in hyperlipidemia.
Finasteride is a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) that inhibits the conversion of the male hormone testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, an androgen metabolite found in prostate and hair follicle tissues.
The medical news portal News Medical Life Science reported on the 22nd that the research team led by Jaume Hamengual, professor of food and nutrition at the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, announced the results of a study showing that finasteride lowers blood cholesterol levels and inhibits the progression of arteriosclerosis.
The research team analyzed data from 4,800 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHNES) participants (2009-2016), including 150 who were taking finasteride.
As a result, finasteride users had an average of 30 mg/dl lower total blood cholesterol levels than non-users. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, the ‘bad’ cholesterol, were also low.
The research team stated that it is unknown what dose and for how long finasteride users used because there is no data.
The research team conducted an experiment on mice to confirm this result.
The research team administered different doses of finasteride to male mice that had been genetically modified to have an increased risk of arteriosclerosis. In addition, they were fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet for 12 weeks.
After 12 weeks, the research team measured the levels of cholesterol and other lipids in the mice’s blood and looked for the appearance of atherosclerotic plaques.
As a result, only the mice administered the highest dose of finasteride had lower blood cholesterol and atherosclerotic plaque levels.
The research team said that because the metabolism of finasteride in the body is different in mice and humans, the same effect may not be achieved in humans when administered at the maximum dose.
As a result of RNA sequencing of mice administered finasteride, it was found that the liver inflammatory pathway was suppressed and the bile acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation (OP), and cholesterol pathways that help decompose fat were activated.
In the future, the research team plans to track the blood cholesterol levels of finasteride users or confirm the effectiveness of finasteride through clinical trials.
How does finasteride, a treatment for hair loss and benign prostatic hyperplasia, affect blood cholesterol?
Arteriosclerosis, which occurs when cholesterol accumulates in the arteries, is much more common in men than in pre-menopausal women. Therefore, scientists have long suspected that the male hormone testosterone plays an important role in arteriosclerosis.
Finasteride is a drug that blocks proteins in hair follicles and prostate that activate testosterone.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, an academic journal of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).
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2024-02-25 22:58:00
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