Endocrine Abstracts

It is well-known that the increase of intraprostatic levels of 5α-dihydrotestosterone is related to the development of prostatic pathologies such as benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. So finasteride and dutasteride-based therapies have been used to improve these diseases. These drugs are potent inhibitors of the enzyme 5α-reductase, which is found in the androgen-dependent tissues. This enzyme is responsible for converting testosterone into dihydrotest...

Proliferative inflammatory atrophy and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia are the first signs of prostate cancer. This inflammatory etiology, together with the infiltration of immune cells, could lead to the binding of the cytokines with cancer cells, forming a population that could initiate tumor growth. [1] Androgens also play an essential role in prostate tumor growth, as is well documented. [2] Androgen deprivation therapy is currently the gold standard for hormone-sensit...

Benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer are androgen-dependent diseases. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is a 5α-reduced metabolite of testosterone (T), which is the causative factor for the progression of these diseases. The 5α-reductase enzyme (5α-R) converts T to DHT, which is responsible for increasing cell proliferation, and hence inhibition of this enzyme could lead to potential treatments for these afflictions. This study aimed to determine the biologi...

Prostate and seminal vesicles are male accessory sex glands secreting fluids that, together with sperm, form the semen. Clear evidence indicating these organs depend on androgens was found the men suffering hypogonadism because, in them, the function of these glands decreases markedly. Because prostate and seminal vesicles are androgen-dependent organs, they have been used as a model to test antiandrogenic drugs in different animal species.The objective ...