Anti-androgen therapy in dermatology: a review.

An anti-androgen is a compound which will specifically inhibit the biological effect of androgens on their target cells. Such compounds are obviously of potential importance in the treatment of skin diseases in which androgenic stimulation plays a pathogenetic role. Both testosterone and Diydrotestosterone (DHT) must bind to a cytosol receptor protein before the hormone can enter the nucleus of the target cell to initiate molecular activity leading to cell division or RNA synthesis. Topical propyltestosterone reduces the size of the hamster sebaceous gland and to counteract the effect of directly applied DHT, but this preparation has yet to be tested in man.