Context: Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists have replaced estrogens for endocrine treatment of advanced prostate cancer (PC) because of cardiovascular side effects. The fetal estrogen estetrol (E4) may be safer for PC treatment and is expected to decrease testosterone (T) and prevent estrogen deficiency.
Objective: To investigate the safety and T-suppressive effect of E4 in healthy men.
Design: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-escalating study.
Setting: The study was conducted at a phase I clinical unit (QPS, Netherlands).
Participants: Healthy male volunteers aged 40 to 70 years.
Intervention(s): Three treatment cohorts of 15 volunteers with placebo (n = 5) and E4 (n = 10). Estetrol doses tested were 20, 40, and 60 mg/d. Subjects were treated for 4 weeks.
Main Outcome Measures: Subjective side effects, pharmacodynamic effects on hemostatic variables, lipids, glucose, bone parameters, and endocrine parameters related to T metabolism.
Results: Total and free T decreased dose-dependently and significantly. Nipple tenderness occurred in 40% and decrease of libido occurred in 30% of E4-treated men. The unwanted estrogenic effects on hemostasis were small, dose dependent, and in some cases significant. Lipid and bone parameters showed a favorable trend.
Conclusion: The effect of E4 on testosterone levels is insufficient for standalone PC treatment. Taking all clinical and pharmacodynamic variables into consideration, a daily dose of 40 mg E4 seems safe for further evaluation of endocrine PC treatment in combination with LHRH analogs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/jc.2018-00147 | DOI Listing |
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Cardiopulmonary Immunotoxicology Branch, Public Health and Integrated Toxicology Division, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Maternal exposure to ozone during implantation results in reduced fetal weight gain in rats. Offspring from ozone-exposed dams demonstrate sexually dimorphic risks to high-fat diet feeding in adolescence. To better understand the adolescent hepatic metabolic landscape following fetal growth restriction, RNA sequencing was performed to characterize the effects of ozone-induced fetal growth restriction on male and female offspring.
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Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania.
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Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE, Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
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Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Pta Eftimie Murgu Nr. 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommun Biol
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Department of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
Pregnancy is a period of profound biological transformation. However, we know remarkably little about pregnancy-related brain changes. To address this gap, we chart longitudinal changes in brain structure during pregnancy and explore potential mechanisms driving these changes.
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