PurpleHeart
Member
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2019
- Messages
- 181
A quick post about a study calling into question yet another dogma in medicine - i.e. that the "evil" androgens (especially DHT) are the causes of men losing their hair and getting prostate cancer. So, the "solution" modern medicine proposes is "chemical castration" with drugs like finasteride, dutasteride, flutamide, bicalutamide, etc that render men impotent, demented, and overall very far from being...men, let alone healthy ones. I have studies in the works attempting to debunk one of those myths - DHT as a cause of prostate cancer - but the study below is already pointing at another part of the myth about DHT being false. It demonstrates that estrogen, and not androgens, cause hair loss in males and administration of estrogen "receptor" antagonists restores hair back to normal levels. The estrogen receptor antagonist used in the studies below was the breast-cancer drug Fulvestrant (ICI-182780) and just twice weekly topical application was enough to restore hair growth to control levels. After 12 weeks of treatment ALL bald mice had hair-growth restored to control levels. Progesterone is the main endogenous estrogen antagonist and works similarly to Fulvestrant. Other estrogen antagonists such as (gasp!) DHT and even aromatase inhibitors such as exemestane may also work. What about the dose? Well, the study used 10 nMol Fulvestrant dissolved in 200uL of acetone, and applied that dosage topically, only twice weekly, to treat an area of 10 cm^2. Since progesterone has roughly the same affinity/antagonism for the estrogen receptor as Fulvestrant, the HED of progesterone to replicate the design of this study would be about 10mcg/kg bodyweight for every 10 cm^2 of balding area. This means a man weighing 100kg would need to apply roughly 1mg of progesterone for every 10 cm^2 of balding area. Applying even higher amount or more often, if there is no response within 3-4 weeks, should be fine as progesterone is not known to inhibit hair growth even in massive doses. As a side note, if androgenic antagonists of the estrogen receptor (e.g. DHT, Masteron, exemestane, etc) are used then just to stay on the safe side, I would not use more than 1mg for every 10 cm^2, and would stick to the twice weekly regimen.
Perhaps the most promising finding of the research is not so much about possible hair-loss treatments but the connection between estrogen and skin cancer. In fact, the lead author of the studies below stated that the same estrogen blocker used to restore growth may also be useful as skin cancer treatment/prevention. Oh well, it seems medicine is not entirely a lost cause and is slowly getting back on the right track
17b-Estradiol is Abundant in Skin and Regulates the Hair Follicle Cycle and Mirex Tumor Promotion
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82416775.pdf
HAIR-RAISING TEST - ESTROGEN LINKED TO BALDNESS
"...Dr. Robert Smart and graduate assistant Hye-Sun Oh were studying the pesticide's impact when they found that the shaved skin of mice grew hair when treated with an estrogen blocker."Estrogen was playing some fundamental role in skin biology," Smart said. The discovery by the North Carolina State University researchers was published in Tuesday's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The discovery is being tested for possible application in humans, but any commercial use could be five years away, Smart said. Smart said the studies also provided insights into skin cancer, but a scientist who wasn't involved in the research said it was too soon to suggest the data may lead to cures for either condition....Smart said the estrogen blocker acts as a switch to turn on hair growth in the lab mice. He said research to determine if the same switch exists in humans is underway at Wake Forest University's Bowman-Gray School of Medicine."
Baldness gets thin explanation Hair: Researchers agree on how hair grows but have yet to discover the definitive reason for male-patterned baldness.
"..."...The latest debate erupted last year when Dr. Robert Smart, a researcher at North Carolina State University, reported that the female hormone estrogen harmed hair follicle growth, and hence played a role in baldness. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Smart's research entailed clipping off the hair of three groups of mice. One group then was coated with a chemical that arrested hair growth for a prolonged period. Two control groups received chemicals that had a minimal effect. When Smart treated the denuded skin of the first group with an estrogen-blocking drug, their hair follicles responded. Within 10 weeks, the mice produced coats so thick they were indistinguishable from untreated mice. Smart says the estrogen blocker prevented normal estrogen stimulation and hair growth was the result."
Another mice study? seriously? Mice do not suffer from MPB so I don't see how mice studies are relevant to males losing their hair.
If estrogen was causing hair loss then transgender women wouldn't regrow hair, they would instead lose more, and before you say progesterone...blah..blah... not every transwoman back in the day used progesterone, some regrew hair with just estrogens and antiandrogens, 5AR deficient males never go bald, eunuchs never go bald, the majority of women never go bald while producing estrogen they only bald after estrogen synthesis stops in menopause.
people have demonstrated hair regrowth with birth control pills, estrogen creams, and antiandrogenic/estrogenic research chemicals, yet no one ever presented any evidence of hair regrowth with androgens, if I am wrong then please provide evidence and I will shut up.
I am not saying that DHT is solely responsible for hair loss, but to not only deny that it plays a role, but also claim it can cure hair loss is laughable, many people here on the forum follow ray peat inspired diets for years and they still lose their hair, and there are many obese people eating massive amounts of PUFA laden fast food every day and still have perfect hair, obese alcoholics with severe gynecomastia and perfect hair, so I think the fact that I doubt your claims is not illogical it's just simple observation of the real world instead of another mice study.
I do not doubt that DHT is important for males, I just doubt the claims that high levels are a good thing, high DHT levels are implicated in stress and disease and while one might claim that this is a defensive response, this doesn't change the fact that having high DHT is not something good, our bodies have a delicate balance that you seem to completely dismiss and instead you diminish biology to a black and white dichotomy of good and bad hormones/substances.
If you want to change peoples mind on DHT = hair loss then you should present legitimate evidence on human beings, because this theoretical crap that has no real world value doesn't mean anything to anyone.
I have nothing against you, nor do I believe that mainstream science is right about DHT and hair loss, but you seem to have created your own dogma whose sole purpose is opposition to the mainstream, but without any real world results.
I am as frustrated about hair loss as the next guy, and I don't think another worthless theory will do anything for anyone suffering from this.
