Men are hospitalized with COVID-19 much more than women, and male hormones may explain why

Since the first reports from Wuhan, China, on the new coronavirus, researchers in several countries have noted that a much higher proportion of men than women get seriously ill and die from the disease. "Now, scientists investigating how the virus does its deadly work have zeroed in on a possible reason: Androgens — male hormones such as testosterone — appear to boost the virus' ability to get inside cells," Science Magazine reports. Two small studies from Spain have also found a correlation between COVID-19 hospitalizations and male-pattern baldness, linked to the powerful androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Researchers in Italy and New York examined prostate cancer patients and found that those on androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), which sharply reduces the amount of testosterone, were much less likely to contract COVID-19 or be hospitalized with the disease than prostate cancer patients not on ADT.

Matthew Rettig, an oncologist at UCLA, has already started a double-blind trial giving 200 U.S. veterans hospitalized with COVID-19 either the androgen-suppressing drug degarelix or a placebo, to see if zeroing out testosterone will improve their prognoses. Side effects of the drug "are equivalent to surgical castration," including hot flashes and breast growth, Rettig says, but "this study only involves a one-time dosage. It's temporary." He hopes to have results in 4-5 months.

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