Too much testosterone kills brain cells

RaveCrusader

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Looks like so many of my Ex-girlfriends may have been right after all...

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Too much testosterone kills brain cells

POSTED: 3:23 p.m. EDT, September 27, 2006

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Too much testosterone can kill brain cells, researchers say, in a finding that may help explain why steroid abuse can cause behavior changes such as aggressiveness and suicidal tendencies.

Tests on brain cells in lab dishes showed that while a little of the male hormone is good, too much of it causes cells to self-destruct in a process similar to that seen in brain illnesses such as Alzheimer's.

"Too little testosterone is bad, too much is bad but the right amount is perfect," said Barbara Ehrlich of Yale University in Connecticut, who led the study.

Testosterone is key to the development, differentiation and growth of cells and is produced by both men and women, although men produce about 20 times more of the hormone.

It can also be abused, and recent scandals have involved athletes who use the hormone, or steroids that turn into testosterone in the body, for an unfair advantage.

"Other people have shown that high levels of steroid can cause behavioral changes," Ehrlich said in a telephone interview.

"We can show that when you have high levels of steroids, you have high testosterone and that can destroy the nerve cells. We know that when you lose brain cells you lose function."

Ehrlich's team tried the same thing with the "female" hormone estrogen, just to be fair.

"We were surprised, but it actually looks like estrogen is neuroprotective. If anything, there is less cell death in the presence of estrogen," she said.

Writing in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Ehrlich and colleagues said their findings meant people should think twice about supplementing with testosterone, even if it does build muscle mass and aid recovery after exercise.

"These effects of testosterone on neurons will have long-term effects on brain function," they wrote.

"Next time a muscle-bound guy in a sports car cuts you off on the highway, don't get mad -- just take a deep breath and realize that it might not be his fault," Ehrlich said in a statement.

The cells die via a process called apoptosis, also known as cell suicide or programmed cell death.

"Apoptosis is an important thing for the brain -- the brain needs to weed out some of the cells. But when it happens too frequently, you lose too many cells and causes problems."

A similar process is seen in Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia in the United States, affecting an estimated 4.5 million Americans, and Huntington's disease, another fatal brain illness.

"Our results suggest that the responses to elevated testosterone can be compared with these pathophysiological conditions," the researchers wrote.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
 
hahahahaha nothing is EVER perfect, and we all die anyway. We worry too much about things we have no REAL control over
 
(WWJD @ Sep. 27 2006,13:52) hahahahaha nothing is EVER perfect, and we all die anyway.  We worry too much about things we have no REAL control over
I agree. Great information, but life is just way too short to go live in a bubble.

Some doctors now a days are perscribing testosterone and HGH to middle aged males to counteract the loss of testosterone production.

I wish they would give a time line on this affect from the test causing the apoptosis (i cant remember), cause if they knew anything about biochemistry, they would realize that high amounts of testosterone, when not used by the body, aromatizes and turns into o-estrogen. Therefor, if their estrogen tests were correct, the use of synthetic test. would be protecting the cells once aromatized. Its this chemical imbalance that sometimes causes mood swings and emotional changes in males who use.

just my nerdy $.02 for the day...
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Errrrrrrrr.. duhhhhh. I dont get the article... are they saying women shouldnt take steriods? I like my women on roids
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I just thought that women would agree with this... Since I have heard so many of them say how stupid men are nowadays. We can tell them it is a clinical condition from being so manly.

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maybe i shouldnt have too all those steriods back in the weight lifting days. i forgot about that till this gave me a memory flash.
 
(diesel @ Sep. 28 2006,10:18) What do you expect  from a woman?  he-he
figures a broad would be behind THAT study-
now where's the test done by men, that demonstrates why too much estrogen (every thirty days) turns females into psychopathic, mood-swingin, bi-polar, over-emotional creatures from he11!
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(BigDiesel @ Sep. 28 2006,14:26)
(diesel @ Sep. 28 2006,10:18) What do you expect  from a woman?  he-he
figures a broad would be behind THAT study-
now where's the test done by men, that demonstrates why too much estrogen (every thirty days) turns females into psychopathic, mood-swingin, bi-polar, over-emotional creatures from he11!  
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You must have just got married and the Honey moon is over
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