Propecia, a Major Advancment for Male Pattern Baldness

In 1997, a giant breakthrough emerged from the large pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co. It was probably the biggest breakthough in the history of cosmetic medications. It was named Propecia or finasteride, and it literally changed the lives of millions of men suffering from alopecia. Many people however do not know the whole story. They are unaware of how Propecia was developed from a prior drug called Proscar. Furthermore, many are unaware of Proscar (finasteride 5 mg) as a substitute name brand medication for Propecia (finasteride 1 mg) and that they can actually buy genuine brand name finasteride for nearly the same price as many sites sell cheaply made generic Propecia of unknown origin.

Proscar, the Precursor to Propecia

In 1992, Federal regulators approved Proscar, Merck & Company’s promising new drug to treat benign enlarged prostate, a frustrating malady afflicting millions of middle-aged men. Benign prostate enlargement or BPH is a condition where the prostate becomes enlarged. The condition is caused mainly by a build up of a hormone in males called Dihydrotestosterone or DHT. DHT gradually accumulates in the bodies of men as they get older . The drug Proscar or finasteride 5 mg was developed to inhibit the formation of DHT in the system. By successfully blocking the synthesis of DHT, Proscar or finasteride 5 mg treated the patient by decreasing the prostate as DHT was eliminated For millions of men suffering from BPH, Proscar was already a wonder drug in itself. However, soon Propecia, an even greater discovery was in store .

As patients began regularly taking Proscar they noticed an extremely beneficial side effect. Their prior hair loss was diminishing and many were even growing new hair on the scalp from taking Proscar . It was quickly confirmed that the action of Proscar or finasteride blocking the formation of DHT also decreased hair loss and grew new hair in men. In short, DHT is also responsible for male pattern hair loss as it builds up in the scalp and atrophes hair follicles, Proscar halted this process.

Merck quickly started patient studies of Proscar (finasteride) to treat alopecia. In 1997, regulatory approval was gained for Propecia. Propecia became the first ever proven medication to stop hair loss and regrow hair in men. The only change that was made from the original drug Proscar was that Propecia is a 1 mg dose of finasteride, whereas Proscar is a 5 mg dose. The tests revealed that Propecia, or 1 mg of finasteride was a sufficient dosage to treat hair loss as opposed to 5 mg used in Proscar.

Propecia, an Instant Hit

Propecia gained immediate fame and took the market by storm. Now many companies, small and large, quality and sub-standard manufacture and market generic Propecia. Many men have discovered two problems however when buying Propecia on the Internet. First, brand name Propecia is quite costly , often more than $75 for 30 tablets . Second, generic Propecia is sold by thousands of  sources around the Internet, yet many men have learned the hard way that many of these Propecia generics are of very poor quality and/or origin. Still many more have found to be counterfeit and have no active medication at all.

Proscar or Generic Propecia?

Since Proscar is the exact same medication as Propecia only in a higher dose (finasteride 5 mg compared to finasteride 1 mg) , men have discovered that instead of Propecia , they can buy proscar tablets and cut them into 4ths or 5ths. Dividing the Proscar gives them an approximate 1 mg piece to take each day . By cutting Proscar and taking a piece daily , they can economize as much as 65% over the price of Propecia with Proscar. Another tremendous advantage, considering the negative issues explained above with counterfeit generic Propecia , Proscar is name brand finasteride made by the same company as Propecia. Cost and quality conscience consumers have learned that they can buy Proscar, divide the tablets and still only pay about the same price as they would for a Propecia generic of likely poor quality. . Of course, if a consumer does not wish to split the Proscar tablets, he may also buy Propecia, the original Merck brand from a reliable Internet pharmacy.