Alcohol boosts testosterone levels

Recent research in animals shows that a surge in testosterone levels in the brain could help explain the drunken behaviour of some men and women. Marked increases in brain testosterone might be relevant to the aggressive behaviour in some individuals. Alcohol's effects on testosterone have long been of interest, in part because of the higher rate of alcoholism among men and the associations between alcohol and violence and between drinking and male sexual dysfunction. Researchers from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California found that alcohol caused a quick rise in testosterone levels in the brains and blood of some male rats. They speculate that the findings may be important for understanding the "behavioural changes" that, for some people, go hand-in-hand with drinking. In some people, drinking may spur a testosterone surge that could lead to aggression or an increase in libido-two behaviours generally associated with both drinking and testosterone. The testosterone boost found in the new study is in contrast to several past studies of animals and men in which intoxicating amounts of alcohol lowered blood levels of the male hormone. In contrast, a recent study of postmenopausal women showed that alcohol raised blood levels of testosterone, the researchers note. In general, though, alcohol has been associated with fall in circulating testosterone and impaired reproductive function. The role of such testosterone changes in alcohol related behaviour and whether the effect is different in men and women is still not clear. The rise noted may be dependant on a number of factors like the amount of alcohol consumed and an individual's personal characteristics. How alcohol could both lower and raise testosterone levels is currently being investigated.