[Lotus]

Wow.  My head swims.  Or does the breast stroke. 

Isn't it true that there are adverse health effect of high levels of DHT and estradiol?  If so, are these not risk factors for the aromatase approach?

Inhibiting the enzyme 5 alpha reductase prevents the conversion to DHT, and the Aromatase enzyme converts free Testosterone to E2. Scientists are using the enzymes of 5-ar and aromatase as inhibitors to fight cancer.

Novel aromatase and 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8043491

Risks and benefits of aromatase inhibitors in postmenopausal breast cancer
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10514021

• So the idea of using these enzymes for the benefit of breast growth isn't actually novel because your using them whether it's realized or not.
  

• Aromatase activity has not only been demonstrated in gonads and placenta but also in brain [6], fat tissue [7,8], muscle [9], hair [10], bone [11] and vascular tissue [12].
  

• Estradiol is the most potent estrogen produced in the body. It is synthesized from testosterone or estrone via aromatase or 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, respectively.
  

• The total estradiol production rate in the human male has been estimated to be 35-45 μg (0.130-0.165 μmol) per day, of which approximately 20% is directly produced by the testes [13,14]. Roughly 60% of circulating estradiol is derived from direct testicular secretion or from conversion of testicular androgens. The remaining fraction is derived from peripheral conversion of adrenal androgens [15].
  

• The mean estradiol plasma concentration in men is only about 1/200 of the mean plasma testosterone concentration [16] and is comparable to estradiol levels found in women in the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.
  

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3143915/

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Testosterone can bind directly to androgen receptors (ARs) or can be aromatized to estradiol (E2), acting on estrogen receptors (ERs), or reduced to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), acting on ARs.

• These metabolites (E2 and DHT) play crucial roles in the organism, mediating many functions such as cognition, reproduction, feeding, muscle, blood and brain metabolism.
  

• Thus modulation of the enzymes 5-alpha reductase and aromatase has to be considered an important gateway to these functions. The former plays an important role in testosterone conversion to DHT in androgen-dependent tissue, the latter in T aromatization to E2.
  

Aromatase

• There's an enzyme in the bodies of both men and women called aromatase. Its primary action is to produce female sex hormones, or estrogens. It produces them from male sex hormones (androgens) such as testosterone and their precursors.
  

• Aromatase also converts androstenedione (a sex hormone precursor) to the female hormone estrone, another estrogen, although weaker than estradiol.
  

• If you increase the activity of aromatase, you can increase levels of female sex hormones (estradiol, estrone).
  

• If you decrease the activity of aromatase, you can decrease levels of female sex hormones, while increasing relative levels of male sex hormones, e.g. testosterone.
  

• Men's bodies normally contain some level of estrogens, in addition to testosterone and their kind. Likewise, women's bodies contain some level of male androgens including testosterone.
  

• The ratio of male-to-female hormones contributes to our masculinity or femininity. Aromatase is one chemical that can tweak that ratio. It operates the same in both men and women, although an array of compounds can affect its activity.
  

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Testosterone-has two metabolites that pose potential problems for aging males and also for bodybuilders and athletes. One is estradiol (testosterone is converted to estradiol by the enzyme aromatase) and the other is dihydrotestosterone (DHT) (testosterone is converted to DHT by the enzyme 5-alpha reductase). As men age, there is a dramatic decrease in testosterone production, but without a corresponding decrease in the production of estradiol and DHT. Even though testosterone levels have plummeted, the aromatization of testosterone to estradiol is maintained, or even accelerated, and more testosterone is also being aromatized in fatty tissues. This creates excess levels of estradiol and, as a consequence, a blood level ratio of testosterone to estradiol that continues to decline, tipping the scale in balance of an estradiol-dominant environment.