Decades of Studies Link Suicide Risk With Common Hair Loss Treatment

Many pharmaceutical drugs come with an ominous list of risks, but the devil is in the details. How likely and dangerous are the side effects, and how do those hazards compare with whatever treatment the drug is meant to provide?

According to a new study, questions like those may not have received enough attention for one particular drug over the past two decades – and a similar lack of scrutiny may still be exposing patients to excessive dangers from other pharmaceuticals.

The new study focuses on finasteride , a prescription drug taken by millions of men since the 1990s. It's commonly used to treat male pattern hair loss as well as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate.

For years, however, there have been hints of finasteride's effects on mood, w