CLASS and MECHANISM of Action

Generic “Propecia” is a remedy for baldness in men with mild to moderate hair loss on the top of the head and the front of the mid-scalp area. It increases hair growth, improves hair regrowth, and slows down hair loss. It works only on scalp hair and does not affect hair on other parts of the body.
Active Ingredients: finasteride
Inactive Ingredients: titanium dioxide, magnesium stearate, talc, docusate sodium, yellow ferric oxide lactose monohydrate, microcrystalline cellulose, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose LF, , and red ferric oxide.

What is Generic “Propecia” PRESCRIBED For?

Generic “Propecia” is used for the treatment of male pattern hair loss on the vertex and the anterior mid-scalp area. Generic “Propecia” is for use by MEN ONLY and should NOT be used by women or children.

How Should I Take Generic “Propecia”?

Generic “Propecia” comes as a tablet. Generic “Propecia” usually is taken once a day. It may be taken with or without food. Take Generic “Propecia” exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor. Continue to take Generic “Propecia” even if you feel well. Do not stop taking Generic “Propecia” without talking to your doctor.
Store Generic “Propecia” at room temperature between 59 and 86 degrees F (15 and 30 degrees C) in a tightly closed container, away from moisture.

What are the CONTRAINDICATIONS for taking Generic “Propecia”?

Before taking this medication, tell your doctor if you have liver disease. You may not be able to take Generic “Propecia”, or you may need a lower dose or special monitoring during treatment.
Generic “Propecia” is intended for men use only. Generic “Propecia” is not indicated for women use. Do not take or handle this medication if you are pregnant or are could become pregnant during treatment. Generic “Propecia” is in the FDA pregnancy category X. This means that it is known to cause birth defects in an unborn baby. Women who are or who may become pregnant must not handle crushed or broken Generic “Propecia” tablets.
The medication could be absorbed through the skin. Generic “Propecia” is known to cause birth defects in a developing male baby. Exposure to whole tablets should be avoided whenever possible however exposure to whole tablets is not expected to be harmful as long as the tablets are not swallowed.
It is not known whether Generic “Propecia” passes into breast milk. Generic “Propecia” is not intended for women use. Do not take this medication if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Drug Interactions with Propecia

Tell your doctor of all nonprescription and prescription medication you may use, especially any nitrate medications (e.g., nitroglycerin, isosorbide dinitrate), nitroprusside (any “nitric oxide donor” medicines), cimetidine, erythromycin, azole antifungals (e.g., itraconazole, ketoconazole), mibefradil, rifamycins (e.g., rifampin) or high blood pressure medicines.

Propecia Storage

Store Propecia at room temperature between 59 and 86 degrees F (15-30 degrees C) away from light and moisture. Keep Propecia and all medications out of the reach of children.

Propecia Notes

DO NOT SHARE Or buy PROPECIA with others for whom it was not prescribed. DO NOT USE or buy PROPECIA for other health conditions. KEEP PROPECIA out of the reach of children. IF USING PROPECIA FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, obtain refills before your supply runs out.

Generic Finasteride

Generic Finasteride contains the same ingredients found in the brand name Propecia, but produced internationally (they DO need medications outside the USA you know!). Though we do not carry, nor distribute Generic Finasteride, our long term members have suggested the following online resource.

Finasteride was approved initially in 1992 as Proscar, a treatment for prostate enlargement, but the sponsor had studied 1 mg of finasteride and demonstrated hair growth in male pattern hair loss. On December 22, 1997, the FDA approved finasteride to treat male pattern hair loss.

The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) showed at a dosage of 5mg per day, as is commonly prescribed for BPH, though much higher than the 1mg generally prescribed for hair loss, participants taking finasteride were 25% less likely to have developed prostate cancer at the end of the trial compared to those taking a placebo. Further, finasteride increased the specificity and selectivity of prostate cancer detection, thus, a seemly increased rate of high Gleason grade tumor.

 Generic Name: Finasteride
Manufactured by Cipla

Use
Propecia is a product for men that can prevent further hairloss and increase hair growth. The active ingredient Finasteride, blocks the formation of DHT (one of the male hormones that causes hairloss), and gives the hair follicles a chance to recover and grow.

Dosage
Take one tablet daily, with or without meals.

Side effects
In general use, the following have been reported infrequently: allergic reactions including rash, itching, hives and swelling of the lips and face, problems with ejaculation, breast tenderness and enlargement, and testicular pain. A small number of men experienced certain sexual side effects. These men reported one or more of the following: less desire for sex; difficulty in achieving an erection; and, a decrease in the amount of semen. Each of these side effects occurred in less than 2% of men.

Precautions
Results vary from person to person. Propecia lowers readings of the PSA screening test for prostate cancer. If you’re scheduled to have your PSA level checked, make sure the doctor knows you’re taking Propecia. It may take several months for the Propecia to work. Do not stop taking this medicine without checking with your doctor. Stopping this medicine will result in a return within 12 months to the same amount of baldness as when you started. Women who are or may potentially be pregnant must not use Propecia and should not handle crushed or broken tablets of Propecia. If a woman who is pregnant with a male baby absorbs the active ingredient in Propecia, either by swallowing or through the skin, it may cause abnormalities of a male baby?s sex organs.

Propecia - Finasteride

• Finasteride (marketed as Propecia, Proscar and many other names) is an antiandrogen which acts by inhibiting 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. Propecia is the first and only FDA-approved pill demonstrated to treat male pattern hair loss (MPHL) on the vertex (top of head) and anterior mid-scalp area (middle front of head) in men only. Finasteride is used as a treatment in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in low doses, and in prostate cancer in higher doses. It is also indicated for use in combination with doxazosin therapy to reduce the risk for symptomatic progression of BPH.

• Propecia (Finasteride) for hair loss

• 10 of 11 men treated with this medication improved or maintained hair. Based on a photographic assessment by an expert panel of dermatologists following 5 years of clinical studies. Most men see results 3 to 12 months after starting Propecia (Finasteride).

• Finasteride (brand name Propecia�) is an orally administered medication for male pattern hair loss (MPHL). It is the only specific MPHL treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for prescription by a physician. Several years of investigation and use by more than a million patients show that finasteride has long-term effectiveness and safety in treating MPHL in men of all ages and all ethnic backgrounds. Finasteride is sometimes used alone or in combination with minoxidil to complement hair transplantation. Finasteride is not recommended for use in women.

• Finasteride’s effects in slowing hair loss and stimulating new hair growth work best for early to moderate degrees of hair loss. Men with extensive hair loss are unlikely to experience much regrowth with finasteride; these men are better candidates for hair transplantation or other surgical approach to hair restoration.

• Finasteride is most effective in stimulating hair regrowth over the crown of the scalp. It is less effective in stimulating regrowth at the front of the scalp-where hair loss is commonly called a “receding hairline”. Physician hair restoration specialists may prescribe finasteride to prevent further hair loss by the patient, and carry out hair transplantation to provide coverage at the frontal hairline.

• Finasteride: How It Works

• Finasteride works at the molecular level to halt hair loss and stimulate new hair growth. It is a medication that selectively inhibits the activity of an enzyme that converts the “male hormone” testosterone into a form that is active in hair follicles.

• Androgenic (”male”) hormones such as testosterone have multiple effects in the body, including actions in the skin, hair follicles and prostate gland. Hair follicles and sebaceous (oil-producing) glands in the skin are particularly responsive to androgenic hormones.Testosterone is the most potent of the androgenic hormones. Its actions on hair follicles, skin and prostate tissue is not direct however; These tissues are responsive to a form of testosterone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT); testosterone is converted to DHT by the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. Finasteride acts by inhibiting the action of 5-alpha-reductase and thus inhibiting the conversion of testosterone into DHT.

• Investigators over a number of years found that 5-alpha-reductase occurs in two forms identified as Type I and Type II, and that finasteride is effective in inhibition of Type II. Type I of the enzyme predominates in sebaceous glands. Type II occurs most abundantly in hair follicles and prostate tissue. Investigators found that: