Top doctor says he’d never treat patients with hair-loss pill

A hair-loss treatment taken by Donald Trump causes impotence and depression in one in ten men, according to one of America’s top prostate surgeons.

Dr Edward Schaeffer, a consultant urologist who treated comic actor Ben Stiller for prostate cancer, says he does not recommend the drug finasteride ‘for any man’ due to the common side effects that affect some patients ‘permanently’.

The tablet, originally developed as a treatment for enlarged prostate, is now sold as Propecia and taken by millions of men across the globe, including the former president and various Hollywood stars, after it was proven to regrow hair.

It works by blocking the male hormone testosterone’s conversion to dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. High levels of DHT are believed to lead to hair loss by shrinking follicles on the scalp.

Finasteride is not prescribed for hair loss on the NHS but, earlier this year, The Mail on Sunday revealed the UK medicines regulators had opened an investigation into it amid a three-fold rise in reports of side effects such as depression, low libido and erectile dysfunction since 2020.

Finasteride is not prescribed for hair loss on the NHS but, earlier this year, reputable online pharmacies canada The Mail on Sunday revealed the UK medicines regulators had opened an investigation into it