Lawsuit against Merck for Propecia and panic disorder

I just read a new article anouncing that some people had filed a lawsuit against Merck Pharmaceuticals claiming that their medication propecia caused them to have panic attacks.  Since panic disorder is so common in the general population especially in a young population also most concerned about hair loss I can't see how a causal relationship could be made.  I have had young men start to panic about their hair loss as they worry about their attractiveness to women (even though many woman seem to think balding men are sexy).  Propecia is a low dose (1mg) of the prostate shrinking medication Proscar (5mg) and has significantly lower side effects.  Although, I know nothing about the specifics of this case and can't comment on the individuals I think there is a lesson to learn about seeking legal help as a diversion to getting real psychiatric care.

Patients who have panic attacks link these attacks to whatever happens at the time.  I've had patients associate a particular exit on the highway with their panic attacks and avoid it.  This is classical conditioning.  (See my chapter on Panic in my book http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=neil+liebowitz&sprefix=neil+liebowitz)
It is unfortunate that there is such a stigma to treatment for psychiatric conditions that patients would rather blame anything else for causing their symptoms than realize that they need psychiatric treatment.  Panic disorder is very treatable, especially if dealt with early. The longer it goes the harder it is to treat.  Filing lawsuits  and blaming others only delays real effective intervention.