BACKGROUND 5α-reductase 1 (5αR1) and 5α-reductase 2 (5αR2) convert testosterone into the more potent androgen dihydrotestosterone. 5αR2 is the main isoenzyme in normal prostate tissue; however, most prostate tumors have increased 5αR1 and decreased 5αR2 expression. Previously, finasteride (5αR2 inhibitor) treatment begun 3 weeks post-tumor implantation had no effect on Dunning R3327-H rat prost...

PURPOSE Finasteride has been shown to reduce the incidence of prostate cancer. Yet the use of finasteride remains low, likely because of the risk of adverse effects. We sought to determine whether prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels could identify a high-risk subgroup for which the benefits of finasteride treatment outweigh the potential harms. PATIENTS AND METHODS Raw data from the Prostate...

The aim of the present investigation is to verify whether treatment with Finasteride or Flutamide influences the regional distribution of testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissue. Thirty seven BPH patients were studied: 15 untreated, 9 treated with Flutamide (750 mg/day for 2 months), and 13 treated with Finaster...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of tamsulosin and finasteride monotherapies, and their combination in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a prospective single-blind randomized study of ninety men with BPH who were managed using drugs. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), peak urinary flow rate, and prostate vo...

Background—Glutathione S-transferases (GST) may prevent carcinogenesis through inactivation of reactive electrophiles by conjugation to reduced glutathione. Treatment directed at the induction or preservation of GST-ð expression in normal epithelium could have a profound impact on the prevention of prostate neoplasia. Finasteride, a 5-áreductase inhibitor, is used as a chemopreventive agent bec...

AIMS We tested whether an exposure to alcohol in late adolescence, an age of rapid increase in neuroactive steroid precursors, would increase voluntary alcohol consumption in adult rats and whether this effect would be modulated by finasteride, an inhibitor of neuroactive steroid synthesis. METHODS In Experiment 1, we exposed male Wistar rats to 8% alcohol during the dark cycle for 1 week dur...

Benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer can be treated with the 5α-reductase inhibitors, finasteride and dutasteride, when pharmacodynamic biomarkers are useful in assessing response. A novel method was developed to measure the substrates and products of 5α-reductases (testosterone, 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), androstenedione) and finasteride and dutasteride simultaneously by liquid ...