Hair loss drug linked to risk of suicidal thoughts, EU regulator says
A medication to treat men's hair loss comes with a rare risk of suicidal thoughts, the European Union's drugs regulator has determined.
The safety committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it reviewed 313 reports of suicidal ideation among people taking the drug finasteride, which can stimulate hair growth and prevent hair loss for men aged 18 to 41.
Finasteride is sold in 1 mg tablets under brand names such as Propecia. Meanwhile, 5 mg tablets are used to treat prostate enlargement that can cause problems urinating.
Most of the reports of suicidal thoughts came from people taking the 1 mg tablets, but 'the frequency of the side effect is unknown,' the EMA concluded.
Finasteride – which already comes with warnings about mood changes, such as depression and suicidal ideation – will remain on the shelves because the safety committee concluded that its benefits outweigh its risks.
But the 1 mg tablets will now come with a card that reminds people of the risks and advises them on how to handle side effects, which can also include decreased sex drive or erectile dysfunction, the EMA said.
The agency said people who experience mood changes while taking finasteride 1 mg should stop taking it and seek medical advice.
The warnings will also be added to the medicine dutasteride, which is another treatment for prostate enlargement.
The EMA safety committee did not have evidence linking the drug to suicidal thoughts, but because dutasteride works the same way as finasteride, the information will be added as a precaution.
The agency noted that there were only a few hundred reports of suicidal ideation among about 270 million patients taking finasteride and 82 million taking dutasteride.
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates pledged on Thursday to give his entire fortune away over the next 20 years to support global health initiatives.
Gates, who co-founded tech giant Microsoft in the 1970s, said he will donate 'virtually all' his wealth through the Gates Foundation, a charity that has become a giant in global health and anti-poverty programmes since he founded it with ex-wife Melinda French Gates in 2000.
Gates had originally planned for his fortune to continue funding the organisation for decades after his death. But the tech tycoon said he's changed his mind.
'There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people,' Gates said in a statement.
'That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned'.
The tech tycoon said he expects the foundation to spend more than $200 billion (€175.8 billion) through 2045. The Gates Foundation said this would double its current spending levels.
While the organisation's overall priorities aren't changing, it will home in on three key goals: curbing preventable deaths among mothers and babies, addressing lethal infectious diseases, and lifting 'millions of people out of poverty,' the foundation said.
The announcement comes amid widespread cuts to global health efforts.
Led by President Donald Trump, the United States has slashed both overseas health funding and programmes, which experts have warned could have devastating consequences.
Without the US's roughly $12 billion (€10.6 billion) in spending on global health in 2024, for example, roughly 25 million people could die over the next 15 years from HIV, tuberculosis (TB), maternal health complications, and in early childhood, one analysis found.
European countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, and France, have also cut their budgets for global health and foreign aid since last year.
Earlier this week, the United Nations' AIDS agency said it would cut its workforce by more than half and move remaining staffers to cheaper posts in response to drastic budget cuts from donors.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local France
4 days ago
- Local France
Porn sites suspend services in France in protest at age verification law
Pornhub and Youporn suspended access to their content in France until further notice in protest against the law. In January, France introduced rules that required all French porn websites and those based outside the European Union to introduce a mechanism to confirm the age of users . This was extended with a decree published in March that extended the measures to companies in the European Union – including Cyprus-based PornHub and YouPorn, as well as Hungary-based Jacquie et Michel. Governments have battled for years to find ways to stop young people viewing online pornography, while balancing the right to privacy of adult users. Age verification can be done with a credit card or by sending an identity document, but websites are also required to offer at least one "double blind" option for users to prove their age without revealing their identity. Advertisement But administrators at the pornographic websites pointed to privacy issues and the risk of personal data leaks in age verification, and argued that the solution must come from devices and operating systems. In the end, two decided to suspend their services in France, effective from Wednesday June 4th. Pornhub and Youporn's decision was welcomed – with no little irony – by France's Minister for Digital Affairs Clara Chappaz, who said she 'wished them well'. 'I say goodbye to them!' Chappaz said in an interview with France Inter, following the sites' decision. 'Because no one is above the law. 'If these websites prefer to withdraw from France rather than protect our children, they have no place here.' And she dismissed their data protection argument. 'It's too easy to take adults hostage and say 'we don't want to comply with our obligations'. 'These are simple obligations, which consist of saying that we can no longer be satisfied with the fact that children can click on the 'I am over 18' button to access adult content. 'It is not about stigmatising adults, but about protecting our children. If they don't want to do it, let them leave. 'I cannot accept that these sites, which generate hundreds of millions of euros, tell us that they are not ready, that there is no solution,' she added, citing 'about 15' possible technical solutions. She said that a number of other sites had 'complied' with the new rules. Advertisement Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub, had previously said it would comply with the law but has warned that the rules would likely prove 'ineffective' and 'dangerous' for users' security and privacy. It argues that under-age internet users could be sent to other less regulated and more extreme areas of the internet. A 2023 report by French senators found that two thirds of children aged 15 or less had seen pornographic content and concluded that there was 'massive, ordinary and toxic' viewing of porn by children, as well as routinely violent content.
AFP
4 days ago
- AFP
Bill Gates' trip to Singapore falsely linked to 'vaccine mandate' claims
"Singapore passes law to mandate vaccines and jail the unvaccinated -- days after Bill Gates' high-level visit," reads a May 12 post by an Australia-based Facebook page with more than 9,000 followers. The post links to an article with the same headline on "The People's Voice", a dubious website which AFP has repeatedly fact-checked for amplifying Covid-19 misinformation. The site has also previously claimed Gates and the World Health Organization (WHO) were "forcing vaccination", which AFP has debunked here. "Just as Bill Gates and the WHO's Tedros Ghebreyesus wrapped up high-profile visits with the nation's top leaders, sweeping changes were quietly pushed through the country's legal system—changes that now make it a crime to refuse mandatory government vaccines," reads the article, calling the timing "impossible to ignore". Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on May 29, 2025 Other posts claiming Singapore would mandate vaccines also appeared on X, Facebook and TikTok. But Singapore's Ministry of Health told AFP the claims are false. "Singapore has not passed any laws on vaccinations after Mr Gates' recent visit to Singapore," the ministry said in an emailed statement on June 3. re on May 5 to announce his philanthropic Gates Foundation would be opening an office in the country (archived link). The Straits Times and Forbes also reported the announcement (archived here and here). Low likelihood of vaccine mandate A number of the false posts referenced Sections 47, 65, and 67 of Singapore's Infectious Disease Law (archived link). The provisions state that the director-general of health may direct "any person or class of persons not protected or vaccinated against the disease to undergo vaccination" when "an outbreak of an infectious disease... is imminent" and "it is necessary or expedient to do so for the securing public safety". "The authorities must show these two requirements are satisfied before they can impose any vaccine mandate," Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at Singapore Management University, told AFP on May 29 (archived link). Penalties for failing to be vaccinated under the amendments would include a fine of up to 10,000 Singapore dollars (around US$7,760) and a prison term of up to six month for the first offence, while a second offence would see the punishment doubled. Tan said the penalties, however, would only apply when a vaccine mandate is in place, though the "likelihood of such a scenario is very low". He added that the statutes within the law make a blanket vaccine mandate "highly exceptional because they are severely intrusive and people cannot be compelled to be vaccinated". More of AFP's reporting on health misinformation is available here.
Euronews
5 days ago
- Euronews
Where in Europe are cases of measles on the rise?
One of the world's most contagious diseases is spreading in Europe. Measles has been on the rise for months. Last year was the worst for measles in Europe and Central Asia since 1997, with more than 120,000 cases reported across the region. Health authorities have warned that cases are likely to rise in the coming months. So far in 2025, about 5,500 measles cases have been reported across the European Union, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Over the past year, many cases have been among unvaccinated children under the age of five, the agency says. Measles is usually a mild or moderately severe illness, but in some cases it can lead to deadly complications. It's extremely contagious, but vaccination is effective at keeping people from getting sick. Here's where cases are highest in 2025, according to ECDC data through the end of April. The vast majority of the EU's measles cases are in Romania, which has reported 3,605 infections as of late April. Three people have died. The country's years-long outbreak has been driven by anti-vaccine sentiment, conflicting health guidance, and a medical system struggling to keep up. In 2023, just 62 per cent of the population was fully vaccinated against measles, far below the 95 per cent threshold needed to prevent outbreaks. There have been 526 measles cases so far this year in France, spurred in part by a "notable increase" in the number of measles cases brought into the country this year, the ECDC said. At least 41 infections have been linked to someone who brought the virus in from Morocco, compared to 26 cases in 2024. In 2023, 93 per cent of people in France were fully vaccinated. But if there are pockets of unvaccinated people in a community, measles can easily take hold. The Netherlands reported 371 measles infections in the first four months of 2025. More than two dozen cases were among people who contracted measles in Morocco or Romania and then came into the Netherlands. Dutch health authorities said there are "clusters" of measles infections, for example, at primary schools or childcare facilities, with most cases among children under the age of 10. But they stressed there is no national measles outbreak. At 81 per cent, the Netherlands has one of the lowest measles vaccination rates in the EU. Only Romania and Cyprus (80 per cent) had lower coverage levels. In Italy, 268 measles infections have been recorded so far in 2025. Overall, in the year ending in late January, it's had more cases than anywhere in the EU except Romania. The country's measles vaccination rate was 85 per cent in 2023, too low to stave off outbreaks. Spain is experiencing outbreaks in several parts of the country, resulting in 251 measles infections this year. Several cases were also imported from outside of Spain, the ECDC said. Notably, 92 per cent of people in Spain were fully vaccinated against measles in 2023, landing the country near herd immunity. In May, the Spanish Ministry of Health encouraged people to check their vaccination status amid the uptick in measles cases both worldwide and within Spain. "The resumption of mobility after the pandemic has increased the risk of imported cases," the ministry said. Health officials in the United States have changed their advice to international travellers about measles, saying people should be vaccinated against the virus no matter where they're going. US residents are recommended to get measles-mumps-rubella shots, anyway. But the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously emphasised the importance of vaccination for travellers going to countries with outbreaks. Last week, the CDC updated its guidance to call for vaccinations for travellers going to all other countries. Ashley Darcy-Mahoney, a researcher at George Washington University's nursing school in the US, called the update significant. A Colorado outbreak last month stemmed from an international flight that landed in Denver, she noted. The CDC travel notice change reflects a recognition that people are not just being exposed to measles in countries where it's spreading, but also in airplanes and during travel, she added. "We're seeing a shift from localised outbreaks to transmission in transit," and the CDC seems to be responding to that, Darcy-Mahoney said. In line with recommendations in the European Union, the CDC's travel notice advises two doses for all Americans ages 1 and older, and an early dose for travelling infants ages 6 months to 11 months. Meanwhile, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recommends that travellers ensure they are up-to-date on their vaccinations before going abroad. So far this year, the US has seen more than 1,000 measles cases, and the EU has reported more than 5,500 cases.
