Some might be anxious about being on ADT during the crisis, but here is a reminder of a thread from late last year [1].
"T cells develop in the thymus & are central to the immune response. At puberty, the thymus "begins to decrease in size and activity in a process called thymic involution."
"The atrophy is due to the increased circulating level of sex hormones, and chemical or physical castration of an adult results in the thymus increasing in size and activity."
I think I might be missing something here..is it not the case that T plays a big part in the immune system? So, without T aren't we all compromised in our immunity? I'm currently in Abu Dhabi, en route back to UK to start social isolation. But I had a head cold in Australia 2 weeks ago, and I still haven't shaken it off! Trying not to freak out about this.....
Interestingly, T is associated with a dampened immune response. Consequently, men with high-normal T do not respomd well to the flu shot - they fail to make an appropriate level of antibodies.
While women respond strongly, they are more prone to autoimmune diseases.
One theory is that while women were home tending to children, hunter-gathering men were out getting food. Serious injury from contact with prey or territorial skirmishes or accidents, might have made it difficult to return home if there had been a vigorous immune response.
I am on a BAT-like protocol. I am castrate now, but on April 1st I will inject a large amount of testosterone [T]. Even on April 8, I expect to have T at about 1,000 ng/dL. So, for a week or longer, my immune response will be dampened & I will be at greater risk.
When my T gets to ~350, I know that I would react better to a flu shot. So that is a good spot.
But what about when my T is close to zero? I can't find studies that answer that. There is one where men on ADT had an 80% increased risk of community-acquired pneumonia. However, there is no mention of comorbidities. Why were the men living in a community? Is it a real-life situation?
To answer your question, I doubt that your family should be concerned, but you could get a blood test to measure immunoglobulin and put the issue to rest.
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