Sexual dysfunction, psychological and cognitive complaints, muscular problems, and physical alterations symptoms were reported in more than half of the PFS patients at the moment of sample collection. The quality sequence check revealed a low library depth for two fecal samples. Therefore, the gut microbiota analyses were conducted on 21 patients. The α-diversity was significantly lower in PFS group, showing a reduction of richness and diversity of gut microbiota structure. Moreover, when visualizing β-diversity, a clustering effect was found in the gut microbiota of a subset of PFS subjects, which was also characterized by a reduction in Faecalibacterium spp. and Ruminococcaceae UCG-005, while Alloprevotella and Odoribacter spp. were increased compared to healthy control. Conclusion: Gut microbiota population is altered in PFS patients, suggesting that it might represent a diagnostic marker and a possible therapeutic target for this syndrome.
Borgo, F, Macandog, AD, Diviccaro, S. et al. Alterations of gut microbiota composition in post-finasteride patients: a pilot study. J Endocrinol Invest (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-020-01424-0 [Journal of Endocrinological Investigation]