5AR inhibition and Testosterone

[vq0]

I was wondering if there is a greater incidence of side effects from internal 5AR inhibitors(finasteride, saw palmetto) in males with lower testosterone levels. I have read that testosterone competes for the androgen receptor so it would make sense that higher testosterone would be a good thing to prevent male pattern baldness.

 

[docj077]

Testosterone merely has lower affinity for the androgen receptor. If you increase testosterone enough, male pattern baldness still occurs, because if either DHT or Testosterone bind to the cytoplasmic androgen receptor, the downstream effects are still the same.

To sum everything up, DHT and testosterone both cause hair loss. Testosterone just does it at a slower rate.

 

[stax]

so shouldnt applying Alpecin caffeine shampoo once per day in the shower block testosterones effects on hair?

 

[Guest]

Testosterone merely has lower affinity for the androgen receptor. If you increase testosterone enough, male pattern baldness still occurs, because if either DHT or Testosterone bind to the cytoplasmic androgen receptor, the downstream effects are still the same.

To sum everything up, DHT and testosterone both cause hair loss. Testosterone just does it at a slower rate.

30 times the affinity? what other androgens will bind to the androgen receptors besides DHT and testosterone? if that wikipedia number is correct that dht has 30 times the affinity then this is why avodart is so effective, right? with only 1% or so of type II DHt remaining, not much loss occurs.