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Article: Anabolic steroids and hair loss
- Article from:
- Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness
- Article date:
- August 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Weider Publications Aug 1998. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Hair loss is a problem facing a lot of guys, especially those who use anabolic steroids. The cause of male pattern baldness lies in the body's response to a metabolite of testosterone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT). While testosterone is the principal male hormone, it must be converted to DHT via the enzyme 5-alpha reductase to exert many of its biologic effects.
Many commonly used anabolic-androgenic steroids readily convert to DHT. This change actually enhances androgen action because DHT has a very high binding affinity for the androgen receptor. For those who aren't scientifically inclined, if you increase the strength at which a steroid joins with its receptor, you basically ...