FSH! (?)

Would increasing FSH reduce biologically active testosterone?

The pituitary sends out LH and FSH: leutenizing hormone and follicule stimiulating hormone. The LH goes to the testes, and creates testoserone, and the testosterone goes to the prostate gland and kills you. (skipping the intermediate steps.)

The FSH goes to the testicles and creates androgen-binding protein. This binds to testosterone to make it biologically unavailable.

When Lupon turns off the pituitary, that down regulates the production of testosterone, and also down regulates the protein that binds to testosterone.

What if we gave FSH artificially to maintain the level of the protein that binds to testosterone? Wouldn't that be great? Or, already tried and it's not so good.

[gusgold]

It looks like PCa cells produce FSH so I doubt it would work

Gus

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Hidden in reply to gusgold]

Good find!. This guy had an orchiectomy, so the mechanism of action for FSH was missing. It is the testes that produce ABP (androgen binding protein).

wikipedia: >>FSH enhances the production of androgen-binding protein by the Sertoli cells of the testes by binding to FSH receptors on their basolateral membranes,[12] and is critical for the initiation of spermatogenesis.<<

from [ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folli... ]

But the article you cite has references to more papers. (!!)

The guy died of pneumonia, probably related to his cancer in some way, but not in a direct way. His FSH plummeted when degarelix was added back in. Degarelix shuts down the pituitary, and what ever levels were left (low but not zero) came from elsewhere. Noted. Note that when FSH production from the pituitary was stopped, the collapse of the PSA stopped as well. It continued to decline, but less quickly.

Why the FSH increased starting on 5/3/13 is a question, and I see that the rate (of rise) changed at the same time that abiraterone was added.

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Great find. I will try to check up with the other papers cited in the article.

Thanks for looking for something and for finding this!!.

[Hidden in reply to gusgold]

wow. too deep.