WHAT CAN DRIVE MEN TOWARD PREMATURE AGING?

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Testosterone is the male sex hormone that is most associated with fertility, sexual drive, muscle growth, and most likely male psychosocial attitudes as well. DHT is essential for the embryonic and fetal development of the male reproductive system, including, of course, the male genitalia. (If the enzyme which converts testosterone into DHT cannot be made during this developmental period, the the female system will be formed.) Later in life, however, a higher than normal blood DHT level seems to result in premature aging of the male reproductive system, an overall loss of masculinity, male pattern baldness, and a prostate condition known as benign prostate hyperplasia (a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland) occurs. Since the urethra passes directly through the prostate gland, this enlargement of the prostate gland makes urination increasingly more difficult in older men as they age. The production of DHT in older men is unstable ---it is not limited by the type of negative feedback mechanism that limits the testosterone level. For this reason, an earlier imbalance resulting in a higher-than-normal DHT level is most likely to become worse with age.