Marc David
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6770
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- Joined: 4/6/2003
- Location: Bay Area -CA
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Status: offline
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Alcohol and Your Testosterone Levels
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Thursday, June 14, 2007 12:47 PM
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2003 Apr;27(4):682-5.
Testosterone increases in men after a low dose of alcohol.
Sarkola T, Eriksson CJ.
Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
BACKGROUND: Heavy acute alcohol drinking decreases blood testosterone in men due to an effect on the testicular level. An acute increase in blood testosterone levels after a low alcohol dose has, however, recently been reported in women. The objective of this investigation was to study the effect of a low alcohol dose on testosterone in men and further elucidate the mechanism behind the effect by using 4-methylpyrazole, an inhibitor of alcohol metabolism. METHODS: A double-blind placebo-controlled interventional crossover trial in random order (n = 13). RESULTS: After intake of alcohol (0.5 g/kg, 10% w/v), an acute increase in plasma testosterone (from 13.5 +/- 1.2 nmol/liter to 16.0 +/- 1.6 nmol/liter, mean +/- SEM; p < 0.05), a decrease in androstenedione (from 5.1 +/- 0.4 nmol/liter to 4.0 +/- 0.3 nmol/liter; p < 0.05), and an increase in the testosterone:androstenedione ratio (from 2.8 +/- 0.3 to 4.2 +/- 0.4; p < 0.01) were observed. The effects were not observed during pretreatment with 4-methylpyrazole (10-15 mg/kg orally), which inhibited the ethanol elimination rate by 37 +/- 3%. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intake affects the androgen balance in men through an effect mediated by the alcohol-induced change in the redox state in the liver.
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