Finasteride may curb taste for alcohol

A preliminary research at Washington University has shown that Finasteride when used in patients for male pattern hair loss also led to loss of taste for alcohol.  

As per the study published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research; two-thirds of 63 men who had at least one alcoholic beverage a week before starting Finasteride said they drank less after stopping the drug.  

The mean number of drinks they consumed in a week dropped from five to two.

The findings are consistent with literature in rodents in which finasteride was shown to reduce alcohol intake and suppress alcohol intake.  Finasteride blocks pathways that are important for the biosynthesis of allopregnanolone.  In both humans and rodents, ethanol consumption increases production of allopregnanolone.  

Studies have shown that rats given Finasteride for a week lose interest in alcohol.  At higher doses, finasteride is used in prostate hypertrophy.