Anti-Androgen Treatment of Hirsute Women: A Study on Stress Responses
TLDR The treatment reduced hair growth and testosterone in women with excess hair and had some effects on stress responses.
In a study from 1984, fifteen hirsute women with oligomenorrhea were treated with cyproterone acetate (CPA) combined with ethinylestradiol (EE2) and compared to age-matched, healthy women under both rest and stress conditions. The treatment led to a significant reduction in testosterone and androstenedione levels (P < 0.005) and a slight but significant decrease in hair growth (P < 0.01). Additionally, the treatment increased heart rate (P < 0.02) without affecting catecholamine excretion and significantly raised plasma cortisol levels (P < 0.0001), likely due to an increase in corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG). The study also found that the treatment normalized an imbalance in adrenal steroid biosynthesis in the patients. No changes in personality characteristics were observed after one year of treatment.
