Prostatitis Research? benign prostatic hyperplasia, diagnosis and medical treatment

Hormesis

Hormesis is when a substance has one effect at small doses and another effect at high doses. The concept of hormesis may be important in prostate cancer. One theory is that the decline in testosterone as men age causes prostate cancer. Perhaps the diagram below will help.

Suppose that whenever testosterone drops below the normal zone men start to get prostate cancer. If that theory is true, then instead of hormone blockade for prostate cancer, men may need hormone supplementation.

Hormesis occurs when a substance or radiation my be beneficial at low does, but is quite toxic at higher doses.

This theory turns the conventional wisdom of hormone blockade for prostate cancer upside down. There are no articles on hormesis and prostate cancer on MEDLINE that I can find, in fact, most articles on hormesis deal with radiation or drugs that have nothing to do with prostate cancer.

References

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4: Kinoshita A, Wanibuchi H, Morimura K, Wei M, Shen J, Imaoka S, Funae Y, Fukushima S: Phenobarbital at low dose exerts hormesis in rat hepatocarcinogenesis by reducing oxidative DNA damage, altering cell proliferation, apoptosis and gene _expression.
Carcinogenesis. 2003 Aug;24(8):1389-99. Epub 2003 Jun 05.
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9: Chapman PM: Defining hormesis: comments on Calabrese and Baldwin (2002).
Hum Exp Toxicol. 2002 Feb;21(2):99-101; discussion 113-4.
10: Upton AC: Comments on the article 'Defining hormesis', by EJ Calabrese and LA Baldwin. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2002 Feb;21(2):111; discussion 113-4.
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15: Pollycove M, Feinendegen LE: Biologic responses to low doses of ionizing radiation: Detriment versus hormesis. Part 2. Dose responses of organisms.
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20: Masuda C, Wanibuchi H, Otori K, Wei M, Yamamoto S, Hiroi T, Imaoka S, Funae Y, Fukushima S: Presence of a no-observed effect level for enhancing effects of development of the alpha-isomer of benzene hexachloride (alpha-BHC) on diethylnitrosamine-initiated hepatic foci in rats. Cancer Lett. 2001 Feb 26;163(2):179-85.
21: Calabrese EJ, Baldwin LA, Holland CD. Related Articles, Links
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J Appl Toxicol. 2000 Mar-Apr;20(2):157-63. Review.
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Nutr Cancer. 1999;34(1):1-11. Review. Erratum in: Nutr Cancer 1999;35(2):216.

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