AGE-RELATED-CHANGES IN BRAIN AND PITUITARY 5-ALPHA-REDUCTASE WITH FINASTERIDE (PROSCAR) TREATMENT

Finasteride (Proscar), a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor, was administered with or without 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in juvenile (28), p eripubertal (48), or young adult (68-day-old) male rats. Luteinizing h ormone (LH) levels and Ventral prostate (VP) weights monitored the eff icacy of the treatments. For each postnatal day tested, LH hormone lev els were not significantly altered by finasteride, suggesting that 5 a lpha-reductase inhibition does nor modulate LH in male rats using this protocol. Finasteride plus DHT treatment significantly decreased LH l evels. Conversely, VP weights were significantly decreased in finaster ide-treated animals while finasteride plus DHT treatment significantly increased VP values. Finasteride plus DHT treatment significantly dec reased pituitary, but not brain, 5 alpha-reductase for each postnatal day tested. In finasteride-treated animals, hypothalamic and pituitary 5 alpha-reductase were significantly inhibited in young adult animals , whereas the activities were not altered in juvenile or peripubertal male rats. These data suggest that a different mechanism may regulate 5 alpha-reductase with the aging of the central nervous system and pit uitary.