Untargeted Metabolomics and Steroid Signatures in Urine of Male Pattern Baldness Patients after Finasteride Treatment for a Year
Yu Ra Lee, Eunju Im, Haksoon Kim, Bark‐Lynn Lew, Woo‐Young Sim, Jeongae Lee, Han Bin Oh, Ki Jung Paeng
Metabolites2020
Summary (paraphrased)
Using LC-MS–based untargeted and targeted metabolomics, the authors compared urinary steroid profiles of men treated with finasteride for one year for hair loss against healthy controls. Beyond the expected DHT suppression (confirmed via the urinary DHT/T ratio), they found broader shifts in steroid hormone biosynthesis, including altered urinary androgens and estrogens. The authors conclude that finasteride's systemic metabolic footprint extends past androgen blockade and flag urinary estrogens as a candidate biomarker axis for further PFS investigation.
Why it’s in the corpus
Human in-vivo evidence that finasteride perturbs systemic steroid metabolism beyond DHT (including estrogens) — supports the corpus's broad-endocrine-disruption framing and suggests urinary steroid biomarkers.