[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
[quote]MassiveGuns wrote:
Estrogen does not cause hairloss. DHT and other androgenic steroids will cause shedding and permanent hairloss in those susceptible. I’d like to know exactly what evidence brought you to the conclusion that estrogen is the main culprit in developing secondary male sex characteristics?[/quote]
It stemmed from anecdotal evidence of guys on the various TRT forums in which I am a member reporting reversal or improvement in their hairlines when they got their E2 levels under control (generally boosting DHT in the process through feedback). I experienced this myself. I can point to no fewer than 10 other cases where this was directly indicated.
The theory is also supported by comparing teenage men versus old men. A young man in his late teens/early 20’s is absolutely chock full of DHT, much higher than the average adult male, yet very few of them exhibit signs of hair loss or prostate issues. Why is this? On the contrary, these ailments do not present themselves in most men until they are approaching middle age, carry a nice spare tire, and with T & E2 levels rivaling their post-menopausal wives.
Nobody looks at your typical middle aged man with his gut hanging over his belt and balding up top and thinks “MAN, THAT GUY LOOKS LIKE HE IS JUST FULL OF TESTOSTERONE!”.
I am fully willing to admit this may not hold up to peer review in the end, and don’t claim it to be absolute truth, but there is plenty of evidence to at least convince me that DHT is not the bad guy here.
Why do you feel that DHT is to blame for these ailments?[/quote]
At TRT doses there may be some merit to the balance of DHT over estrogen, but its a big mistake to extrapolate from that that at the dosages of steroids commonly used to gain muscle that the effects of DHT will be even remotely similar.
Example, testosterone at physiological dosages increases collagen synthesis. Bump it up to steroid user levels and it starts having the opposite effect. MPB is an androgenic side effect and recorded all the way back in the orignal literature published when steroids were first being developed. All steroids cause hairloss to some degree, the more androgenic ones are known to cause it more rapidly. DHT is one of the most androgenic hormones.