Hormones, Androgens and Acne

[Coca Cola]

I've tried the Nizoral 2% shampoo during my last cycle, used up 3-4 bottles and didnt work to get rid of my acne, I'm guessing my acne must be cause by estrogen, not by DHT since the anti-androgen properties of ketoconazole didnt work to get rid of my acne.

Next cycle i'm going to try tanning and some AI, maybe adex because I can't get aromasin, what dosage do u suggest for adex swifto?

[Swifto]

Very complete post.
I didn't think there was someone else sharing my ideas about using dudasteride (not finasteride) and aromasin as a possible solution for acne during cycle.

Altough, I've investigated some more, and found some studies about spironolactone (aldactone) as an anti-androgen (therefore preventing hell from us prone to acne)

So my anti-acne "stack" would be spironolactone-dudasteride-exemestane

If you're all interested, I can post these studies about aldactone, I still have them somewhere.

I'd like to see them please.

I've tried the Nizoral 2% shampoo during my last cycle, used up 3-4 bottles and didnt work to get rid of my acne, I'm guessing my acne must be cause by estrogen, not by DHT since the anti-androgen properties of ketoconazole didnt work to get rid of my acne.

Next cycle i'm going to try tanning and some AI, maybe adex because I can't get aromasin, what dosage do u suggest for adex swifto?

Normal dose for an AI. I dont know which dose you usually use. But to start, 0.25mg/EOD or ED.

[Coca Cola]

I'd like to see them please.





Normal dose for an AI. I dont know which dose you usually use. But to start, 0.25mg/EOD or ED.

Thx swifto!

[RED26]

Here you go:

Spironolactone, an aldosterone antagonist has an antiandrogenic effect by potentially inhibiting some enzymatic steps in androgen synthesis in testes and adrenals. In order to clarify the site and mode of the antiandrogenic action of spironolactone in vivo, spironolactone-induced alterations in the hormonal patterns were studied in normal mature male dogs and men with prostatic carcinoma. Decrease in the level of plasma testosterone and increase in the level of plasma progesterone were noted by the administration of spironolactone for a period of 20 days in the animal study as well as in the clinical study. No significant changes were noted in the plasma level of cortisol and 17 β-estradiol as well as LH and FSH. The plasma level of LH, however, increased significantly in one patient whose duration of the drug was extended up to 30 days. Spironolactone did not inhibit the secretion of gonadotropins, however, it was considered that increased level of plasma progesterone would counteract the stimuli of gonadotropin release caused by the low level of testosterone. From these observations, it would be concluded that spironolactone acts directly on the enzyme system contributing to the conversion of progesterone to testosterone, and this agent would be used as antiandrogenic drug for the treatment of patients with cancer of the prostate.

Source: http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110003080792/en

The anti-androgenic action of spironolactone was compared to that of cyproterone acetate and R 2956, two potent anti-androgenic steroids, on rat prostate, in vivo and in vitro. Like these compounds, spironolactone inhibits the formation of the specific androstanolonereceptor complex in cytoplasm and consequently in nuclei. Of its dethioacetylated metabolites, canrenone, but not canrenoate-K, exhibits the same in vitro action.

Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_o ... 1dc6877af2

A series of compounds designed to block the action of androgens in target tissues, and called antiandrogens, have been developed for the treatment of androgen-sensitive diseases, especially prostate cancer, hirsutism, precocious puberty and deviant sexual behavior. In order to further assess the androgenic activity of these compounds, we have studied their effect on the growth of an androgen-sensitive clone of the mouse mammary carcinoma Shionogi SC-115 cells in culture. Hydroxyflutamide did not affect the doubling time (7.40 ± 0.09 vs 7.20 ± 0.12 days) characteristic of these cells. However, all of the other compounds tested stimulated cell growth. Thus, in the presence of cyproterone acetate, cells had an accelerated growth rate and shorter generation time of 6.28 ± 0.06 days (P < 0.01). In the presence of 1 μM spironolactone, the generation time was 4.96 ± 0.04 days (P < 0.01). With chlormadinone acetate, the doubling time was reduced to 3.79 ± 0.08 days while for megestrol acetate, the doubling time was 3.63 ± 0.04 days (P < 0.01). The synthetic progestin Medroxyprogesterone acetate had the most potent androgenic effect reducing the doubling time to 1.85 ± 0.05 days (P < 0.01). For comparison, dihydrotestosterone gave a doubling time of 1.76 ± 0.07 days. When hydroxy-flutamide (5 μM) was added simultaneously with each “progestin”, the ED50 value of action of all the compounds was increased in a competitive manner, thus indicating that the mitogenic effect on cell growth of all compounds is mediated by the androgen receptor. Of all the compounds used, only hydroxy-Flutamide was devoid of any androgenic activity and thus meets the criteria of a pure antiandrogen.

Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_o ... 607e64681d

A decrease in the level of plasma testosterone and an increase in the level of plasma progesterone were noted after spironolactone had been administered for 20 days in 5 patients with prostatic carcinoma, as well as in 8 male dogs. Electron microscopic observation disclosed myelin-like bodies in the cytoplasm of Leydig and adrenocortical cells in dogs, contributing to a resolution of the mode of antiandrogenic action of spironolactone.


Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/642094

I searched other studies where it's considered safe to use spironolactone for up to 20 weeks at low doses without side effects. The percentage of incidences during this study were 1% for gyno, and 3% for potassium depletion causing severe hospitalization, but since this numbers are too low, I decided to take the risk and use it for the whole cycle, preventing not only acne (due to anti-androgenic effects) but also water retention (since it's a diuretic) and lowering blood pressure (an extra "bonus")