YEAR-END FUNDRAISING DRIVE

The Search for Culprit Genes in Post-Finasteride Syndrome Massively Narrowed, Thanks to New University of Milano Research

Now let’s pull together to get this study published
Oct. 11, 2022
 
Dear Friends:
As virtually all of you are aware, Mohit Khera, MD, Director for Andrology Research at Baylor College of Medicine, last year published a study demonstrating that finasteride can damage the normal functioning of 3,764 human genes.  
 
As virtually all of you are unaware, however, Roberto Cosimo Melcangi, PhD, Head of the Neuroendocrinology Unit in the Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Milano (UniMi), recently wrapped up research that identified, via a next-generation sequencing technology known as RNA-seq, several genes that are likely responsible for the side effects observed in PFS patients.

That’s big news. And you needn’t be an MD or PhD to figure out that, from here, the path to mapping the precise molecular nature of finasteride-induced sexual dysfunction promises to be much shorter than anyone anticipated. Ditto the path to exploring potential therapies for this and other persistent side effects that have been the ruin of many thousands of men worldwide, with no signs of slowing down.

Just one small hitch: Prof. Melcangi’s new research represents Phase I of a two-phase project. Phase II, which requires new funding, necessitates:
 
(a) Analyzing the raw data from Phase I,
(b) writing a formal study based on that analysis, and
(c) publishing that study in a high-impact-factor, peer-reviewed medical journal.
To get Phase II in the works as soon as possible, we’re looking to raise $50,000 USD by the end of January.
 
At this point, we need to tell you that, a few paragraphs back, we lied. Not everyone within the PFS community was unaware of Prof. Melcangi’s breakthrough until now. Over the past month, two PFS patients and one set of parents of a PFS suicide case, separately, approached us to express interest in helping fund future research.
 
When we hinted at what Team Melcangi had just accomplished, two of the parties immediately wrote checks for $1,000, and the other kicked in $2,000. That means we’ve got a 8% head start on this year’s fundraising goal, leaving us just $46,000 to go.

The other piece of good news goes without saying. But we’ll say it anyway: Team Melcangi has, by far, published more PFS studies than any other research group on the planet. Among them are:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
So we have the utmost confidence that Prof. Melcangi will, if properly funded, publish his latest genetic research within a year of starting on Phase II.
 
We sincerely hope that you’ll have the same level of confidence in Team Melcangi when you consider making a generous contribution toward this extremely promising project.
Anyone living in the US who suffers from PFS should report his or her symptoms to the US FDA. Anyone living outside the US who suffers from PFS should report his or her symptoms to the US FDA as well as to his or her local drug-regulatory authority (DRA), as directed on our Report Your Side Effects page.
Finally, if you or a loved one are suffering from PFS, and feeling depressed or unstable, please don’t hesitate to contact the PFS Foundation as soon as possible via our Patient Support hotline: social@pfsfoundation.org
 
Thank you.
For future research results and other news from the PFS Foundation, please subscribe to our mailing list.