What is DHT good for?

[Luther007]

I've been taking finasteride for about 5 years now, and I'm happy to be retaining a Norwood 2 after being diagnosed with male pattern baldness 7 years ago. I haven't had any persistent side effects.

So while I'm happy with the drug, it does bother me somewhat that my body wants to make a hormone and I'm inhibiting it. I understand that DHT is essential during puberty, to make boys into men, but why is it necessary in manhood? DHT is a more potent form of Testosterone, right? I speculated a bit:

For most of human history, men have been warriors. Sustained, violent combat was a necessary ability for men to protect their families, cities, and countries. Could DHT be Nature's way of bestowing men with a capability for the heightened aggression needed in warfare?

Also, I'm not averse to the idea that DHT might have been a useful libido enhancer. Whereas modern technology and lifestyle makes modern men much more energy efficient, men of history may have needed the extra 'kick' from DHT to maintain a healthy libido.

:dunno:

 

[HairLoss916]

finfighter gave a pretty good summary about why inhibiting 5AR2 is bad and why people develop sides.

Also, one thing that I think finfighter left out is hormones work as a feedback system, so hibiting one hormone causes the rest of your hormones to compensate in other ways.

Personally, I believe inhibiting 5AR2 is the wrong way to go about downregulating DHT (which is the ultimate goal).

 

[Bryan]

Personally, I believe inhibiting 5AR2 is the wrong way to go about downregulating DHT (which is the ultimate goal).

Then how do you propose to reduce DHT?

 

[Thom]

What is DHT good for?

Absolutely nothin! Good God ya'll!



Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[squeegee]

Personally, I believe inhibiting 5AR2 is the wrong way to go about downregulating DHT (which is the ultimate goal).

Then how do you propose to reduce DHT?

Taking pregnenolone. There is also progesterone prevent T conversion to DHT.

New Progesterone Esters as 5?-Reductase Inhibitors
Marisa CABEZA1), Ivonne HEUZE1), Eugene BRATOEFF2), Eugenia MURILLO2), Elena RAMIREZ2) and Alfonso LIRA2)
1) Departments of Biological Systems and Animal Production, Metropolitan University-Xochimilco
2) Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Chemistry, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria
(Received February 26, 2001)
(Accepted May 17, 2001)
The pharmacological activity of four new progesterone derivatives: 4-bromo-17?-(p-fluorobenzoyloxy)-4-pregnene-3, 20-dione (7), 4-bromo-17?-(p-bromobenzoyloxy)-4-pregnene-3, 20-dione (8), 4-bromo-17?-(p-chlorobenzoyloxy)-pregnene-3, 20-dione (9) and 4-bromo-17?-(p-toluoyloxy)-4-pregnene-3, 20-dione (10) was determined. These compounds were evaluated as 5?-reductase inhibitors on gonadectomized hamster seminal vesicles and flank organs. The pharmacological data of this study indicate that compounds 7 and 9 having at C-17 p-fluorobenzoyloxy and p-chlorobenzoyloxy ester functions respectively showed the highest antiandrogenic effect as measured by the reduction of the weight of the seminal vesicles. In the flank organ model, the same compounds 7 and 9 exhibited a smaller diameter, 1.8 and 1.0 mm, respectively, than the commercially available finasteride 3 (2.3 mm), thus indicating a higher inhibitory effect on 5?-reductase enzyme. Steroid 7 showed a higher inhibitory activity on the conversion of T to DHT (Fig. 3) than the presently used finasteride, thus indicating a higher antiandrogenic effect. The nonsubstituted benzoyloxy ester (compound 15) showed a lower antiandrogenic activity as measured in the seminal vesicles model than the p-substituted benzoyloxy compounds.
Key words flank organ; seminal vesicle; 5?-reduction; T-conversion; C-16 substituent

 

[freakout]

Personally, I believe inhibiting 5AR2 is the wrong way to go about downregulating DHT (which is the ultimate goal).

I agree. DHT is produced because male physiology needs it. You neutralize it, then you become a woman with a penis that's sometimes dysfunctional.

With male hormones or DHT, your physiology expects you to act like a man. If you're acting like a woman like many of us do today, you are violating millions of years of evolution. Instead of working for you, DHT give you side effects one of which is baldness and the others are heart diseases.

So yes, it is their option to neutralize 5AR2 but they better be ready to face the long term consequences if there are any.

 

[keepinthehair]

Holly shizt,

Prior to taking finasteride I would have understood those articles and the role of DHT. Now two and a half years after taking finasteride and having "brain fog" I dont have a clue what any of that stuff means...Ignorance is bliss and we get to keep hair. :woot:

 

[Bryan]

Personally, I believe inhibiting 5AR2 is the wrong way to go about downregulating DHT (which is the ultimate goal).

Then how do you propose to reduce DHT?

Taking pregnenolone. There is also progesterone prevent T conversion to DHT.

Squeegee, I think you missed the point of my post. Taking progesterone is yet another way to inhibit 5AR2! But HairLoss816 said that inhibiting 5AR2 is the WRONG way to go about downregulating DHT, which is why I asked him what other way he IS recommending to reduce DHT!

 

[s.a.f]

What is DHT good for?

Absolutely nothin! Good God ya'll!

"It aint nothing but a heartbreaker! Freind only to the finasteride maker, DHT makes your youthfull looks decay - DHT cant give hair, It can ooonlly take it awaaaay!!!" :band: :freaked2:

 

[freakout]

DHT is like steriods. Notice how younger looking bald men are when they wear hats. Men with intacked hair line look older and wrinkle much earlier.

Tame your male hormones with drugs, then you chemically induce hypotestosteronemia - a case that affects old men.

There are other ways to tame DHT. And that is to use it the way nature and evolution meant it to be.

male pattern baldness is a symptom and a degenerative condition. It is associated with CVDs. It is not a part of evolution. It only means balding men aren't using DHT the way nature intended it to be.

If nature meant for us to be bald, we'll be a Norwood Type 7 from the day we are born and never grow hair at the top - just like you have nipples from the day u were born.

Castrates who never experienced male puberty. on the other hand, look young but abnormal. They are shorter with long arms. It's simple - they never physiologically and physically transformed into men.

 

[cuebald]

It's too bad that nature and evolution meant us to all be bald though isn't it.

Why do men have nipples? Yet we have them

 

[bigentries]

From what I understood, reduced amounts of androgens actually made men look younger. Like the old descriptions of the Castratis

And I was bald the day I was born :whistle:

 

[Rabid]

Men with full heads of hair have DHT. Just the same as us male pattern baldness dudes. Nothing wrong with DHT. It is doing what it is supposed to in our bodies as a hormone.

Exactly, so why do we still label "the enemy" DHT. The high or low level of DHT is inconsequential, but rather one's "sensitivity" to it. DHT is being framed by a chemical (let's call it MFB) found only in "sensitive" follicles of male pattern baldness . Why can't someone determine the true identity of MFB and create drugs to destroy it and leave poor DHT alone for chrissake!! I mean poor DHT is found in balders just as much as non-balders. :sobbing:

 

[freakout]

Why can't someone determine the true identity of MFB and create drugs to destroy it and leave poor DHT alone for chrissake!! I mean poor DHT is found in balders just as much as non-balders. :sobbing:

Trust me, they know. But it can't be stopped by drugs. So they target poor DHT.

 

[Bryan]

Exactly, so why do we still label "the enemy" DHT. The high or low level of DHT is inconsequential, but rather one's "sensitivity" to it. DHT is being framed by a chemical (let's call it MFB) found only in "sensitive" follicles of male pattern baldness . Why can't someone determine the true identity of MFB and create drugs to destroy it and leave poor DHT alone for chrissake!! I mean poor DHT is found in balders just as much as non-balders. :sobbing:

It's amusing to me that you would think a SINGLE CHEMICAL is responsible for a hair follicle's sensitivity to androgens, but I suggest to you that it's far more complex than that. It almost certainly has to do with the large-scale design and function of the hair follicle. Changing or deleting any one specific chemical probably isn't going to have much effect on how it responds to androgens, in my opinion.

 

[LooseItAll]

Castrates who never experienced male puberty. on the other hand, look young but abnormal. They are shorter with long arms. It's simple - they never physiologically and physically transformed into men.

Nope. In fact they were taller because there was little testosterone to convert into estrogen. And as we all know estrogen is responsible for fusing the growth plates that allow the long bones to elongate.

Men are generally taller because they have less estrogen. Girls usually stop growing about 2-3 years after the first period once the estrogen starts to kick in hard. On the other hand in boys during puberty aromatase activity is minor while 5AR2 is really starting to show, thats'a why they still grow while on the other hand develop secondary male characteristics. After puberty the Aromatase/5AR2 ratio is slowly beginning to balance out and when you get into your 60s 70s it sometimes turn in favor of Aromatase and that is the usually reason of erectile disfunction.