Studies on Neurosteroids XXV. Influence of a 5.ALPHA.-Reductase Inhibitor, Finasteride, on Rat Brain Neurosteroid Levels and Metabolism
Yoshiyuki Mukai; Tatsuya Higashi; Yukiko Nagura; Kazutake Shimada
Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin2008
Summary (paraphrased)
Using sensitive LC-ESI-MS/MS methods developed to quantify trace neurosteroids, the authors measured how finasteride alters brain levels and metabolism of allopregnanolone, 3alpha-dihydroprogesterone, progesterone, 20alpha-dihydroprogesterone, and 11-deoxycorticosterone in rats exposed to immobilization stress. The work establishes that 5-alpha-reductase blockade measurably depletes multiple brain neurosteroids, not just peripheral DHT. It is primarily an analytical-pharmacology study: the method development was a prerequisite for showing the drug's central neurosteroid effects. The findings supply the direct experimental link between finasteride administration and reduced brain allopregnanolone.
Why it’s in the corpus
One of the earliest direct demonstrations that finasteride depletes brain neurosteroids — the foundational 5AR-neurosteroid mechanism paper for the corpus's mechanistic axis.
Related records
- Peer-reviewed paper
The connection of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors to the development of depression
Thiraphat Saengmearnuparp; Bannakij Lojanapiwat; Nipon Chattipakorn; Siriporn Chattipakorn · Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
Clinical studies indicate that former users of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors carry a higher incidence of depressive symptoms and neuropsychiatric side effects than non-users, yet the mechanisms behind depression in former users — sometimes called…
ARLIT-0512021PFSLiterature sweep · Oct 2026 - Video
Healthcare of the Transgender Patient (Powers Method)
William J. Powers, D.O. · Chen Merami · 2:03:27 (7407s)
background pharmacology: 5ARI neurosteroid depletion, rectal progesterone protocol, androgen blockade
YT-3g52vlv5YWo2024PFSCore corpus - Peer-reviewed paper
Persistent erectile dysfunction in men exposed to the 5α-reductase inhibitors, finasteride, or dutasteride
Tina Kiguradze, William H. Temps, Paul R. Yarnold, John Cashy, Robert E. Brannigan, Beatrice Nardone, Giuseppe Micali, Dennis Paul West… · PeerJ
Using electronic medical records from Northwestern Medicine, the authors tested whether longer 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor exposure raises the risk of persistent erectile dysfunction (PED, lasting at least 90 days after stopping the drug). Among 11,909…
LIT-0022017PFSLiterature sweep · Oct 2026