FIN alters ethanol intake patterns / role of neurosteroids

Science Other Studies
#1

Treatment with and withdrawal from finasteride alters ethanol intake patterns in male C57BL/6J mice: potential role of endogenous neurosteroids?

pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl … id=1533880

Selected bits:

… "Notably, progesterone §, testosterone (T) and deoxycorticosterone (DOC) are all substrates of the 5αR enzyme.

It is possible that the observed effects of FIN on ethanol consumption patterns could represent a compound influence of inhibition of T and DOC as well as P metabolism.

Furthermore, FIN treatment may have shunted these steroid precursors towards an alternate biosynthetic pathway."

…"Several recent studies employing human subjects have directly and indirectly demonstrated a modulatory role for neurosteroids and their metabolism in relation to ethanol’s subjective effects, early withdrawal and recovery from dependence.

First, FIN was found to diminish the subjective response to self-administered ethanol by moderate drinkers, with particular effectiveness noted in individuals homozygous for the common A-allele variant of the GABRA2 gene encoding the GABAA receptor α2 subunit (Pierucci-Lagha et al., 2005).

Second, Romeo and colleagues (1996) discovered a pronounced suppression of plasma ALLO that coincided with augmented anxiety and depression ratings in alcoholic subjects undergoing acute withdrawal."

#2

What does this mean in laymans terms?

#3

– 3 hormones which 5AR converts into their active metabolites (ie, these 3 hormones are precursors).

– Fin inhibits the conversion/metabolism of these 3 hormones into their active metabolites.

– Exactly as it says… Fin may have caused these 3 hormones to take a different pathway to converting to their active metabolites, if they did at all.

– People with a common variant of the A-allele GABRA2 gene are more susceptible to Fin’s effects (alchohol).

– Fin surpresses Allopregnanolone which leads to anxiety and depression, the effects of which can be made worse when the drug is withdrawn.

These are all just my interpretations so take them as such.