Theory on Fin

[goldbondmafia]

After reading a lot about Fin and MPB I have noticed something maybe significant, maybe not.

Many males suffer from low testosterone levels which is becoming a significant problem and I think males with mid-low testosterone levels that use Fin will have their test lowered and thus suffer from erectile dysfunction.

I know three people that use Fin now, all of whom have above average test levels and have had no side effects in this area that i know of. Obviously Im no expert or doctor but its just something ive noticed from personal experience...

what do you think?

[seattle30]

Finasteride can actually raise testosterone, but obviously it will diminish dht.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

I have never read that Finasteride lowers regular testosterone levels. If DHT has something to do with erectile function in men then maybe you are on to something. I have heard that they have tried to link DHT with libido but mot erectile function.

[seattle30]

A 2008 paper in the Journal of Andrology is linked, the below excerpt is taken from the paper and may offer a reason why erectile dysfunction is occuring in some patients on finasteride.

http://www.andrologyjournal.org/cgi/content/full/29/5/514

"Further evaluation of the role of DHT in the penis has been done at the penile morphologic level. Shen et al (2000) investigated the ultrastructural changes of the penile corpus cavernosum and tunica albuginea in rats representing 3 groups: sham control, castrated, and treated with finasteride. Four weeks later, blood samples were obtained for the determination of serum T and DHT levels, and penile tissues were taken for scanning electron microscopy. The T and DHT levels in castrated rats and the DHT level in finasteride-treated groups were significantly lower than those in the control group. In the castrated animals, there was a high degree of fibrosis in the corpus cavernosum with irregularly arranged collagenous fibers and a marked decrease in smooth muscle fibers, while in the DHT-inhibited group (finasteride-treated), the corpus cavernosum comprised a substantial amount of thick and irregularly arranged collagenous fibers, but the degree of fibrosis was less than that of the castration group (Shen et al, 2000). This work suggests that because finasteride inhibits the action of DHT but not T on the corporal cavernosal tissue, the degree of fibrosis was less in the DHT-inhibited group than in the castration group. In the castration group, the thickness of tunica albuginea decreased significantly and the elastic fibers were mostly supplanted by collagenous fibers, and in the DHT-inhibited group, the elastic fibers were replaced by disorganized and thick collagenous fibers. Since the tunica albuginea plays a major role in the erectile mechanism of the penis, the latter results offer an explanation for the presentation of ED in patients treated with 5ARIs."


Here is another link to a paper in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism covering the effects of exogenous dht administration to older males with andropause symptoms, below is an excerpt...

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/87/4/1467.full.pdf

"This first placebo-controlled study carried out with DHT demonstrated a number of changes in both clinical and biochemical parameters in response to percutaneous DHT administration in men with relatively low bioavailable serum T levels and andropause symptoms. Treatment with DHT improved the ability to maintain erections and transiently improved early morning erections. However, these changes were small, though significant"