Gut Inflammation Induced by Finasteride Withdrawal: Therapeutic Effect of Allopregnanolone in Adult Male Rats

[P]revious observations in PFS patients and an experimental model showed alterations in gut microbiota populations, suggesting an inflammatory environment. To confirm this hypothesis, we…explored the effect of chronic treatment with finasteride…and its withdrawal…on the levels of steroids, neurotransmitters, pro-inflammatory cytokines and gut permeability markers in the colon of adult male rat. The obtained data demonstrate that the levels of [ALLO] decreased after finasteride treatment and after its withdrawal. Following the drug suspension, the decrease in ALLO levels correlates with an increase in IL-1 and TNF-, serotonin and a decrease in dopamine. Importantly, ALLO treatment is able to counteract some of these alterations. [B]ecause (i) sexual dysfunction may be related to alterations in gut microbiota and (ii) the existence of the well-described gut-brain axis, observations here obtained may provide an important background to explore [the] protective effect of ALLO on psychiatric and andrological dysfunctions, laying the groundwork for possible therapy in PFS patients.