Inhibitors of steroid 5 alpha-reductase in benign prostatic hyperplasia, male pattern baldness and acne.

Abstract

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is an androgen-dependent disease which afflicts a large percentage of males over the age of fifty, and is usually treated by surgery. Dihydrotestosterone, a 5 alpha-reduced metabolite of testosterone, has been implicated as a causative factor in the progression of the disease, largely through the clinical study of males who are genetically deficient in the dihydrotestosterone-producing enzyme, steroid 5 alpha-reductase. As a result, inhibition of this enzyme has become a pharmacological strategy for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia as well as other dihydrotestosterone-related disorders such as acne and male pattern baldness. In this review, Brian Metcalf and colleagues focus on the chemical and kinetic mechanisms of steroid 5 alpha-reductase, and known inhibitors of this enzyme, and discuss the rationale behind the design of a mechanistically distinct class of steroid 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors.

• Authors: B W Metcalf, M A Levy, D A Holt
• Journal: Trends in pharmacological sciences (Trends Pharmacol Sci) Vol. 10 Issue 12 Pg. 491-5 (Dec 1989) ISSN: 0165-6147 [Print] England
• PMID: 2482561 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• 5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors

Topics

• 5-alpha Reductase Inhibitors
• Acne Vulgaris (drug therapy)
• Alopecia (drug therapy)
• Humans
• Male
• Prostatic Hyperplasia (drug therapy)