Testosterone increases in men after a low dose of alcohol

I found this abstract on my travels today. I just thought I would post it here for a wider audience.

Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2003 Apr;27(4):682-5. Testosterone increases in men after a low dose of alcohol. Sarkola T, Eriksson CJ.

BACKGROUND Heavy acute alcohol drinking decreases blood testosterone in men due to an effect on the testicular level. An acute increase in blood testosterone levels after a low alcohol dose has, however, recently been reported in women. The objective of this investigation was to study the effect of a low alcohol dose on testosterone in men and further elucidate the mechanism behind the effect by using 4-methylpyrazole, an inhibitor of alcohol metabolism.METHODS A double-blind placebo-controlled interventional crossover trial in random order (n = 13).RESULTS After intake of alcohol (0.5 g/kg, 10% w/v), an acute increase in plasma testosterone (from 13.5 +/- 1.2 nmol/liter to 16.0 +/- 1.6 nmol/liter, mean +/- SEM; p < 0.05), a decrease in androstenedione (from 5.1 +/- 0.4 nmol/liter to 4.0 +/- 0.3 nmol/liter; p < 0.05), and an increase in the testosterone:androstenedione ratio (from 2.8 +/- 0.3 to 4.2 +/- 0.4; p < 0.01) were observed. The effects were not observed during pretreatment with 4-methylpyrazole (10-15 mg/kg orally), which inhibited the ethanol elimination rate by 37 +/- 3%.CONCLUSIONS Alcohol intake affects the androgen balance in men through an effect mediated by the alcohol-induced change in the redox state in the liver.
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Kevin - The management - keratin.com

Well this could explain why it can make a man horny?Sure has done that to me in the past. Now would this also negate the theory about heavy drinkers having less hairloss?More test=more loss but drinking raises estrogen levels too so?

Well the paper seems to say that really heavy drinking does lead to a drop in testosterone so that would be consistent with the alcoholics having less hair loss. The study focuses on more normal alcohol intake and claims this increases testosterone. So the result depends on the total amount of alcohol intake.

If there is an increase in T one would expect some temporary increase in any activities affected by T. Aggressive behavior too maybe? Of course the reduction in inhibitions through alochol might have more of a role to play than any action through changes in T levels.
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Kevin - The management - keratin.com

KEVIN,

If what I understand is correct, could years of somewhat heavy alcohol use affect hair loss in women?
I quit drinking 4 years ago. Would that have ANY EFFECT now, like cause TE related to another stressor (like HRT or low-carb dieting?
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mariejoe

"keep the hair you've got"

Heavy drinking could affect hair loss although I would think the mechanism would likely involve permanent liver damage. Livers are the main area of metabolism be it alcohol or androgens. A damaged liver may not be able metabolize properly and that could have all sorts of knock on effects on hormones. If there was a hormonal problem it should show up in a blood test. Whether there are effects on things like vitamin and mineral utilization I don't know but that may also be possible.
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Kevin - The management - keratin.com