Finasteride and Fertility: Case Report and Review of the Literature

December 2012 | Volume 11 | Issue 12 | Case Reports | 1511 | Copyright © December 2012


Giuseppe Ricci MD, Monica Martinelli BS, Stefania Luppi PhD, Leila Lo Bello MD, Michela De Santis MD,Kristina Skerk MD, and Gabriella Zito MD

hypothesized that low-dose finasteride might negatively influence the DNA integrity of sperm, resulting in increased pregnancy losses.12 None of these studies described fullterm pregnancy or live birth during use of or after cessation of finasteride therapy.
The case reported here describes a spontaneous pregnancy that occurred 5 months after discontinuation of finasteride therapy. The pregnancy resulted in a healthy baby, who showed regular development at age 1 year. Since the patient's semen quality was unknown before finasteride treatment, this case cannot support the hypothesis that the effects of finasteride might be amplified in patients with subfertility.8-10 It cannot be excluded that semen changes were independent from finasteride administration and that pregnancy was simply coincidental. However, this case indicates that treatment with finasteride, even after several years, does not prevent normal conception. We retain that this observation is relevant because there are no documented cases of successful pregnancy currently available in the literature, although millions of men have taken or are taking finasteride.13
In conclusion, caution should be advised for the use of finasteride in male partners of couples who trying to conceive. Furthermore, finasteride discontinuation, particularly in subjects with impaired semen analysis, should be considered, until adequate studies are available that report on the drug's effects of the drug on conception.

DISCLOSURES

The authors have no relevant con!icts of interest to disclose.

REFERENCES

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  9. Liu KE, Binsaleh S, Lo KC, Jarvi K. Propecia-induced spermatogenic failure: a report of two cases. Fertil Steril. 2008;90(3):849.e17-e19.
  10. Chiba K, Yamaguchi K, Li F, Ando M, Fujisawa M. Finasteride-associated male infertility. Fertil Steril. 2011;95(5):1786.e9-e11.
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  13. Schweiger ES, Boychenko O, Bernstein RM. Update on the pathogenesis, genetics and medical treatment of patterned hair loss. J Drugs Dermatol. 2010;9(11):1412-1419.

AUTHOR CORRESPONDENCE

Giuseppe Ricci MDricci@burlo.trieste.it
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