The best selling Propecia hair restoration drug made by the pharmaceutical company Merck is now being used by over four million men around the world. It is very popular not only because it is effective in about 90% of men with male pattern balding but also because it is very simple to use. It functions by reducing the build up of DHT in a man’s scalp that is responsible for killing the hair follicles.

Some recent research done on the use of Propecia’s active ingredient finasteride has shown however that the drug can cover up an important indicator that is used in testing for prostate cancer. The Propecia will lower the incidence of a protein that is called prostate specific antigen (PSA) that is used as the first indication of whether you have cancer of the prostate or not. Men who have high PSA readings in their blood stream are often suffering from prostate cancer and will therefore be required to do more tests to check if that is in fact the case.Men using the Propecia will therefore sometimes slip through the PSA testing with artificially low PSA readings that do not give a clear reading and picture of their prostate health.

From the research that was done by Dr A. D'Amico from the Brigham & Women's Hospital it was recommended that men who are using Propecia and get testing for PSA levels must double their PSA readings so as to be certain that they are not touching the danger zone for prostate cancer. This research should be taken seriously by anyone using Propecia and if they go for a PSA screening they should inform their doctor that they are taking the Propecia drug so that the results can be adjusted accordingly. Cancer of the prostate is a very serious cancer but it can be cured if it is found early in and treated properly. Another drug called Proscar is also made by Merck that contains 5 times the amount of finasteride that a tablet of Propecia has, and it is used by men to reduce an enlarged prostate and to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Propecia is a prescription drug that is only for use in men with male pattern balding and not for other types of hair loss. Propecia is not allowed to be used by women and will not have any visible effect on female hair loss anyway. The makers of Propecia and Proscar financed this important study and the results were announced in the Lancet Oncology journal.