An exciting new study in the medical journal, European Urology, shows that a single injection of 150 mg of a female hormone called depot medroxyprogesterone relieves the obstruction within a few days. The only side effects are temporary impotence, decreased libido and delayed ejaculation. The prostates did not return to their original size for 5 to 9 months. This is an extraordinary study because it shows that a female hormone can shrink a male gland, the prostate. Recent research shows that having high blood levels of the female hormone, estrogen, but not the male hormone, testosterone, is associated with increased risk for prostate enlargement.
Women have two hormones, estrogen and progesterone.
Women who have irregular periods and do not release eggs, have bodies that produce estrogen, but not progesterone. As a result, they are at increased risk for uterine cancer. Estrogen stimulates the inner lining of the uterus to grow, while progesterone stops the stimulation. Women who do not release eggs are given progesterone to protect them from the overstimulation by estrogen that can cause uterine cancer. In the future, men who have enlarged prostates may be treated with progesterone to prevent prostate enlargement called hyperplasia.