Men

DHT & Hair Loss & Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

By Fornia ⋅ March 31, 2009 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

The Good Men

Some men are the envy of most.

• They have testosterone, which is what men need to remain manly.
• But they don’t have DHT, or have low DHT. This usually means they don’t go bald easily nor are at high-risk for prostate hyperplasia.

The Bad Men

Some others who during the Qing dynasty, got their balls chopped off.

• They do not have testosterone. They usually aren’t very manly.
• Nor do they have DHT. So they too don’t go bald easily nor are at high-risk for prostate hyperplasia.

The Ugly Men

Many men though are destined.

• They have testosterone.
• And they have DHT. These people go bald easily and many go on to develop an enlarged prostate gland.

The Difference

These last bunch of people have the enzyme 5-alpha reductase. So when testosterone lodges itself in the follicles of our hair, or in the prostate gland, the enzyme converts testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

The Solution

Finasteride blocks the conversion of T to DHT.

• In the 1mg dose, it’s called Propecia, used to treat male pattern baldness.
• In the 5mg dose, it is called Proscar, used to treat hyperplasia of the prostate gland.

Many man with male pattern baldness use Propecia and find it helpful enough. We won’t go into research to comment on how effective the treatment is, but take it that it’s significant enough to keep selling in the stores.

Other men with enlarged prostate glands have problems with urination because the enlarged gland irritates either the bladder or the urethra. Proscar actually reduces DHT levels, and subsequently reduces prostate volume enough to have people continue using it.

But…

The Problems

The main issue with finasteride is that has unexpected side-effects (from this site):

1. Impotence
2. Decreased libido
3. Decreased volume of ejaculate
4. Abnormal ejaculation

Look at the side-effects of lowered DHT levels! For those who think of testosterone as the ultimate sex hormone have to do a rethink.

Maybe DHT is as important a male hormone as testosterone is.

Sources:

• Richard F. Spark, Sexual Health for Men

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