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New guidelines issued by American urologists have suggested that the drug finasteride, commonly used to fight hair loss in men under the name Propecia,is also effective in combating prostate cancer. The American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Urological Association have said that after a phase III randomised trial, the evidence was that finasteride reduced the chances of someone contracting prostate cancer by 25%.

The results are based on data gathered from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, which studied 18,882 healthy men aged over 55. In a strange paradox, the results showed that while men who did not have the cancer dramatically reduced their chances of getting it, amongst men who did or had already developed the cancer, the tumours were more likely to be high-grade.

However during a year of analysis of the results, the researchers discovered that the medication was not making the tumours high-grade, but was rather making them easier to detect by shrinking the prostate. The researchers said they believed the myth that finasteride caused the cancer had now been debunked.

The lead researcher on the study Barnett Kramer said not enough research had yet been done to see how cost effective it would be to take finasteride as preventative measure. He said it would depend on whether American health care insurance providers would cover the cost. He also said that more needed to be discovered about whether a low dose of the medication would also be effective and whether the drug impacts on prostate cancer mortality.

The News of the World this week reported that England football star Wayne Rooney is planning to start taking the prescription-only hair loss medication Propecia after he got sick of teasing about his balding pate from teammates. Rooney, who is paid £100,000 a week to play as a striker for Manchester United, has apparently already has a consultation to begin the treatment.

Previously, footballers were unable to take Propecia. The active ingredient finasteride was banned in the sport, as regulators were afraid it could mask steroid use. Now it has been made legal and apparently Rooney, 23, is hopeful it could help with his early-onset hair loss and is intending to combine the pills with a topical lotion he will rub into his scalp.

Rooney is expecting his first child with his wife Coleen and the baby is due later in the year. If the couple were trying for a child, this would have prevented Rooney from starting the medication immediately as finasteride can cause problems in the development of unborn male children. His wife’s pregnancy may still lead him to decide to only begin the medication after the baby is born, as it is recommended that the pregnant women do not come into contact with the tablets at all.

According to an American gossip website the American rocker Jon Bon Jovi is worried that he is starting to suffer from male-pattern baldness. The singer and sometime actor is justly famed for his luscious locks and many women (and men) have felt their hearts flutter at the sight of his sandy tresses curling gently onto his shoulders in such epic works as Sex and the City, The Leading Man and of course all his wildly sexy music videos.

However, the 1985 Kerrang “Sex Object of the Year” is quoted as saying,"Oh, let me tell you, I am so worried (about my hair). I look at guys like Sting and think, 'Well, he's cool about it,' but I'm already losing it a bit and I'm so aware of it". This new fear has been held responsible for the new, shorter hairstyle he has been sporting in recent months.

We often get questions about whether or not the hair loss product that we prescribe actually works.  It is really extraordinary because nobody ever questions the other treatments.  Maybe it is because treatments for erectile dysfunction have had so much positive publicity and the ability to lose weight is something that we know is perfectly possible?  With hair loss, most men, whilst being distressed about the process, are resigned to the fact as they believe that there is nothing that can be done.  It is bizarre that the market leading treatment, Propecia, has not had more editorial publicity in the UK (it is not allowed to be advertised here as it is prescription only and the marketing of these types of drugs is heavily regulated in the UK.)

I first heard about Propecia on a trip to the United States when I saw a television advert for the product.  This was a prescription medication which the manufacturer claimed could reverse hair loss.

Propecia, like a lot of other drugs, was discovered by accident.  Finasteride, the active ingredient contained in Propecia, was originally developed to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate.)  Patients being treated with Finasteride began to notice that they we re-growing hair that was lost years before.  Further trials confirmed the original anecdotal evidence.

Male pattern baldness is caused by a naturally occurring hormone called dihydratestosterone (DHT) which attacks the hair follicles in the scalp, causing hair production to slow down and in some cases, cease altogether.  Bizarrely, DHT can actually encourage hair growth on other parts of the body such as the chest, back and nostrils.  Propecia inhibits the production of DHT and can lead to the re-growth of scalp hair.

So, in summary, yes, the hair loss product works and it works well.  I have personally been taking it ever since I saw it advertised on that trip to the US!