Propecia Hair Loss Treatment
Psychological effects of Hair Loss
Psychological studies have shown that hair loss is associated with lessened self-esteem, bouts of depression, increasing introversion, nonspecific neuroses like avoidance or aversion, and a general loss of well-being. Though men of from all age groups experienced these symptoms, they were strongest among the 18-30 age groups.
Hair is one of the first features we notice, both in ourselves and in others. A full head of hair sends a message to the pre-optic area of the Hypothalamus (the area of the brain associated with mating) telling us the individual in question has good genetic material. This, in turn, triggers hormones that inspire us to engage in conversation, display interest, or even flirt to attract the individual’s attention. Love is a modern convention; the instinct to reproduce ourselves is as old as time.
No one has ever reported a bad teeth day, or even a bad eye day, but a bad hair day can send us into a spiral of depression, even when we have ‘good’ hair (that is, full, thick, healthy hair). To have thin hair, or worse, almost no hair, is as emotionally devastating as the loss of a limb, or the loss of hearing, smell or taste.
Help from Propecia
Propecia, from Merck & Co., is the first, clinically proven, pharmaceutical treatment to reduce hair loss and even re-grow hair in men. In studies in both the
Propecia is a secondary discovery of Proscar (Finasteride), which was originally developed by Merck & Co. to treat benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, or BPH. Merck’s primary objective has always been the discovery, development, and manufacture of pharmaceuticals that both treat and prevent illness in humans and animals. Occasionally, as in the case of Proscar, results are noticed in the laboratory, which suggest other uses for the same chemical.
Drugs Discovery Methods
Drug discovery is a time-consuming, expensive, high-risk proposition. Beginning with basic research into the way chemical compounds are taken into the body, and the path of disease, the drug then moves to development, where researches test its safety and efficacy. It takes about 12 years, and roughly $800 million dollars, to bring a medicine from the discovery phase to market-readiness. For every single medicine that reaches the public, between 4,000 and 10,000 compounds must be screened for safety, viability, dosage requirements, and efficacy. Many (in fact most of them) fail; they don’t work in animal trials, they can’t be safely manufactured, or they have side-effects in both animal and human trials that severely outweigh their benefits. In fact, of 10,000 compounds, only five will enter clinical testing, and just one will make it to the market.
Costs Involved in Propecia Use
Surprisingly, Propecia is not that expensive. The monthly cost for 30 tablets of Propecia (one tablet being the standard, daily dose) is about $50. Dosages of Propecia do not have to be adjusted for age; they are the same for a 60-year old as for a man 40 years younger, testifying to the overall safety of Propecia. The side effects are minimal: 2% of men report problems, primarily allergic reactions, or rashes, but also sexual side effects like loss of libido, reduced secretions, and – rarely - breast or testicle tenderness. The incidence of these effects declined to .03% by the fifth year of use.
Rated for both safety and effectiveness, Propecia stands at the top of the list of remedies for male pattern baldness (Androgenic Alopecia). It has more than earned its place in the medicine cabinet as a superior weapon against that one sign of aging most men fear (and a majority of men experience); the loss of their hair.