Androgens and antiandrogens

Androgens are a class of steroid hormones that act as agonists to androgen receptors.

Testosterone is the principal endogenous androgen, while synthetic androgens include testosterone derivatives and anabolic steroids.

They bind to and activate androgen receptors and are used in the treatment of conditions where testosterone levels in the body drop lower than normal, such as primary or secondary hypogonadism.

Now, antiandrogens or androgen antagonists include androgen receptor inhibitors, 5α-reductase inhibitors, and inhibitors of testosterone synthesis.

They prevent the biological effects of androgens like testosterone in the body and are used in the treatment of prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, hair loss in males, and hirsutism in females.

Testosterone, the primary male hormone, is an androgen, andro meaning male and gen meaning “to produce,” which means testosterone helps generate the characteristics associated with male sexuality.

The effects of testosterone are first seen in the fetus, where it guides development of the male urogenital tract and external genitalia, as well as testicular descent through the inguinal canal.

Testosterone is primarily secreted by the fetal testicles.

The fetal ovaries also secrete testosterone but at much lower levels, and this largely explains the differences in fetal development between boys and girls.

In puberty, the hypothalamic-pituitary axis regulates testosterone levels and gonadal function.