ArticleEndocrine connections2019
Altered methylation pattern of the SRD5A2 gene in the cerebrospinal fluid of post-finasteride patients: a pilot study.
Article in Endocrine connections, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Evolution of Precision Anti-Doping From UGT2B17 Polymorphism Insights to Integrated Detection Frameworks.Drug testing and analysis · 2026Review
- Steroid 5α-reductases in the brain: From neurosteroidogenesis to therapeutic implications.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2026Review
- Finasteride Use Does Not Lead to Depression or Suicide: Insights From a Large-Scale Cohort Study and Mendelian Randomization Analysis.Journal of cosmetic dermatology · 2025Article
- Post-finasteride syndrome - a true clinical entity?International journal of impotence research · 2025Review
- Diagnostic criteria for enduring sexual dysfunction after treatment with antidepressants, finasteride and isotretinoin.The International journal of risk & safety in medicine · 2022Article
- Post-finasteride syndrome: An emerging clinical problem.Neurobiology of stress · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextPost-finasteride syndrome (PFS) occurs in patients with androgenic alopecia after suspension of the finasteride treatment, leading to a large variety of persistent side effects. Despite the severity of the clinical picture, the mechanism underlying the PFS symptoms onset and persistence is still unclear.
objectiveTo study whether epigenetic modifications occur in PFS patients.
methodsRetrospective analysis of a multicentric, prospective, longitudinal, case-control clinical trial, enrolling 16 PFS patients, compared to 20 age-matched healthy men. Main outcomes were methylation pattern of SRD5A1 and SRD5A2 promoters and concentration of 11 neuroactive steroids, measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples.
resultsSRD5A1 and SRD5A2 methylation analysis was performed in all blood samples (n = 16 PFS patients and n = 20 controls), in 16 CSF samples from PFS patients and in 13 CSF samples from controls. The SRD5A2 promoter was more frequently methylated in CSF of PFS patients compared to controls (56.3 vs 7.7%). No promoter methylation was detected in blood samples in both groups. No methylation occurred in the SRD5A1 promoter of both groups. Unmethylated controls compared to unmethylated SRD5A2 patients showed higher pregnenolone, dihydrotestosterone and dihydroprogesterone, together with lower testosterone CSF levels. Andrological and neurological assessments did not differ between methylated and unmethylated subjects.
conclusionsFor the first time, we demonstrate a tissue-specific methylation pattern of SRD5A2 promoter in PFS patients. Although we cannot conclude whether this pattern is prenatally established or induced by finasteride treatment, it could represent an important mechanism of neuroactive steroid levels and behavioural disturbances previously described in PFS.
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