Three-Month Treatment With a Long-Acting Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Agonist of Patients With Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Effects on Tissue Androgen Concentration, 5α-Reductase Activity and Androgen Receptor Content*

The intraprostatic concentrations of testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) have been measured in only a few men. We measured, in prostatic tissue obtained at surgery from seven men with benign prostatic hyperplasia, the effects of 3-month treatment with a long-acting GnRH agonist on 1) the intraprostatic concentrations of T, DHT, and 5α-androstan-3α,17β-diol (3α-diol); 2) prostatic 5α-reductase activity; and 3) the prostatic content of androgen receptors (AR). Plasma T, DHT, and 3α-diol levels also were measured. Prostatic tissue samples obtained at surgery from a group of untreated men with benign prostatic hyperplasia also were studied. The mean DHT and 3α-diol concentrations in the prostatic tissue of the treated men were about 10/ of those in untreated men (n = 19; P P > 0.05). The mean in vitro formation of DHT by the prostatic tissue of ...