An email extract between Dr. Lee and another user.
"Dr. Lee,
I recently came across this study:
http://www.asiaandro.com/1008-682X/5/33.htm
I was wondering if this is the reason why men on
finasteride sometimes have erection problems,
sometimes even for months or years after discontinuing
finasteride. Do you think this is likely?
Also, do you think that this is reversible?"
Dr. Lee's response:
"That is a fascinating study. The methodology is very scientific and
the work is entirely credible. How did you ever happen to access such an obscure article?
Just earlier today (and I apologize for the delayed reply to your
question), a patient had complaints about difficulty in achieving and maintaining an erection, although his libido was fine after discontinuing finasteride for two years. The findings from this study may be the explanation.
So, the direct answer to your question is "Yes". It may very well be
that the long term use of finasteride can cause microscopic harmful
structural changes in the erectile tissues of the penis.
We have to be very careful not to unthinkingly apply these results in
rats to humans, but the
findings are potentially very alarming.
Thank you very much for calling my attention to this article.
If, in fact, the elastic tissue was replaced with collagenous tissue
and there was fibrosis in the tunica albuginea and in the corpus
cavernosum, the difficulty with erections may not be reversible.
Richard Lee, M.D."