Seeker of Truth
01-15-2003, 09:27 PM
Source (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=594&ncid=594&e=5&u=/nm/20030115/hl_nm/alcohol_testosterone_dc)
Alcohol May Boost Testosterone in Brain and Blood
Wed Jan 15, 2:01 PM ET Add Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A testosterone surge in the brain could help explain the drunken behavior of some men and women, if new animal research is any indication.
Researchers found that alcohol gave a quick jolt to testosterone levels in the brains and blood of some male rats. They speculate that the findings may be important for understanding the "behavioral changes" that, for some people, go hand-in-hand with drinking.
"Marked increases in brain testosterone might be relevant to aggressive behavior in some individuals," Dr. Robert H. Purdy, the senior author of the new report, told Reuters Health. "You need to keep in mind the word 'some,' however."
Clearly, people differ in how alcohol affects them, noted Purdy, a scientist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
He and his colleagues report their findings in the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Alcohol's effects on testosterone have long been of interest, in part because of the higher rate of alcoholism among men. In addition, the associations between alcohol and violence, and between drinking and male sexual dysfunction, suggest that testosterone effects are at work.
The testosterone boost the new study found is in contrast to several past studies of animals and men in which intoxicating amounts of alcohol lowered blood levels of the male hormone. On the other hand, a recent study of postmenopausal women showed that alcohol sent up blood levels of testosterone, the researchers note.
In general, though, alcohol has been tied to dips in circulating testosterone and impaired reproductive function.
Alcohol May Boost Testosterone in Brain and Blood
Wed Jan 15, 2:01 PM ET Add Health - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A testosterone surge in the brain could help explain the drunken behavior of some men and women, if new animal research is any indication.
Researchers found that alcohol gave a quick jolt to testosterone levels in the brains and blood of some male rats. They speculate that the findings may be important for understanding the "behavioral changes" that, for some people, go hand-in-hand with drinking.
"Marked increases in brain testosterone might be relevant to aggressive behavior in some individuals," Dr. Robert H. Purdy, the senior author of the new report, told Reuters Health. "You need to keep in mind the word 'some,' however."
Clearly, people differ in how alcohol affects them, noted Purdy, a scientist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
He and his colleagues report their findings in the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Alcohol's effects on testosterone have long been of interest, in part because of the higher rate of alcoholism among men. In addition, the associations between alcohol and violence, and between drinking and male sexual dysfunction, suggest that testosterone effects are at work.
The testosterone boost the new study found is in contrast to several past studies of animals and men in which intoxicating amounts of alcohol lowered blood levels of the male hormone. On the other hand, a recent study of postmenopausal women showed that alcohol sent up blood levels of testosterone, the researchers note.
In general, though, alcohol has been tied to dips in circulating testosterone and impaired reproductive function.