Blood Donation May Not Reduce Risk of Testosterone-Induced Polycythemia

Autologous blood donation in "high-risk" patients.

Autologous blood is defined as blood drawn from one individual to be given back to that individual as the need for transfusion arises. The Canadian Red Cross has provided autologous blood donation to healthy donors for the last decade. To participate in this program, patients must essentially meet regular blood donor criteria, thus excluding patients with cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic,...

Aromatase inhibitors may reduce endometrial cancer risk.

Use of aromatase inhibitors, which are known to reduce endogenous oestrogen levels, as adjuvant therapy had a lower risk of endometrial cancer, compared with that of patients who were treated with tamoxifen, results of a new study show. In this study, Rowan Chleblowski and colleagues (Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA) examined the rec...

Finasteride and dutasteride may reduce melanoma risk.

Malignant melanoma is an androgen-dependent tumor. Androgen blockade enhances response to the melanoma vaccine. In their study, Zhang et al reported that a history of teenage acne in women may be a novel risk factor for melanoma independent of other risk factors. Acne in women is related to androgens and can be treated with finasteride. Both finasteride and dutasteride prevent the conversion of...

Females competing to reproduce: dominance matters but testosterone may not.

The associations among aggression, testosterone (T), and reproductive success have been well studied, particularly in male birds. In many species, males challenged with simulated or real territorial intrusions increase T and levels of aggression, outcomes linked to higher dominance status and greater reproductive success. For females, the patterns are less clear. Females behave aggressively tow...

Blood Donation