Taking Hair Loss Medication Also Lowers Cholesterol... Unexpected Benefits Revealed

Hair Loss Drug 'Finasteride' Shows Effect on Hyperlipidemia
Research Team at University of Illinois Analyzes Data and Conducts Experiments

A study has found that finasteride, a treatment for hair loss and benign prostatic hyperplasia, is also effective against hyperlipidemia.

On the 22nd (local time), medical news portal News Medical Life Sciences reported that a research team led by Professor Jaume Hamengual of the Department of Food and Nutrition at the University of Illinois Agricultural College announced research results showing that finasteride lowers blood cholesterol levels and inhibits the progression of atherosclerosis. The team analyzed data from 4,800 participants (2009?2016) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), including 150 people taking finasteride. As a result, finasteride users had an average total blood cholesterol level 30 mg/dl lower than non-users. Levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, known as "bad" cholesterol, were also lower. However, the research team stated that they could not determine the dosage or duration of finasteride use due to lack of data.

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Finasteride is a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) that inhibits the conversion of the male hormone testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, an androgen metabolite found in prostate and hair follicle tissues. Known under the brand names Propecia and Proscar, finasteride was originally developed as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia but was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for hair loss as well, with different dosages used for the two conditions.

The research team conducted experiments on mice to verify whether finasteride lowers blood cholesterol levels. Male mice genetically modified to increase the risk of atherosclerosis were administered varying doses of finasteride while being fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, the researchers measured the mice’s blood cholesterol and other lipid levels and examined the presence of atherosclerotic plaques. The results showed that only the mice given the highest dose of finasteride had reduced blood cholesterol and plaque levels. The team explained that because finasteride metabolism differs between mice and humans, the same effect in humans may not require the maximum dose.

RNA sequencing analysis of the finasteride-treated mice revealed that inflammatory pathways in the liver were suppressed, while bile acid metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation (OP), and cholesterol pathways that aid fat breakdown were activated. The research team plans to track blood cholesterol levels in finasteride users or conduct clinical trials to confirm finasteride’s effects. These research findings were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, the academic journal of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).