Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Cimetidine" in English language version.
Drugs interacting in this way with CYP include the histamine H2-receptor antagonist cimetidine, [...] Reversible inhibitors, such as cimetidine, which interact with the complexed iron at the active site of the enzyme to inhibit oxidation of other drugs. The inhibition occurs before any oxidation of the inhibitor occurs and is reversible once the inhibitor is removed.
In high concentrations cimetidine acts as a weak antiandrogen by competitively binding to cytosol androgen receptors, as has been demonstrated in rat ventral prostate (Foldesy, Vanderhoof, & Hahn, 1985; Sivelle, Underwood, & Jelly, 1982) and mouse kidney tissue (Funder & Mercer, 1979). In vivo, cimetidine, in high dose levels, causes reductions in prostate and seminal vesicle weights in male rats (Foldesy et al., 1985; Leslie & Walker, 1977; Sivelle et al., 1982). After 6 weeks of daily cimetidine administration to male rats, reduced weights of accessory sexual organs were accompanied by elevated gonadotropin levels (Baba, Paul, Pollow, Janetschek, & Jacobi, 1981). At therapeutic levels in men, cimetidine either has no effect on plasma T levels (Spona et al., 1987; Stubbs et al., 1983) or causes small increases in T (Peden, Boyd, Browning, Saunders, & Wormsley, 1981; Van Thiel, Gavaler, Smith, & Paul, 1979; Wang, Lai, Lam, & Yeung, 1982). The increases in T have been attributed to cimetidine's antagonism of the normal negative feedback that androgens exert on gonadotropin secretion (Peden, Cargill, Browning, Saunders, & Wormsley, 1979). Gynecomastia and even loss of libido that progressed to impotence have occasionally been reported in men taking cimetidine (Peden et al., 1979; Spence & Celestin, 1979), but the occurrence of these disorders is very rare (Gifford, Aeugle, Myerson, & Tannenbaum, 1980). In one survey, gynecomastia, the most frequent endocrine-related complaint, was reported in only 0.2% of over 9,000 patients taking cimetidine (Gifford et al., 1980).
Like other antiandrogens, [cimetidine] leads to elevated gonadotropin levels by antagonizing the negative feedback control of gonadotropin secretion by testosterone [1, 34]. Cimetidine has been reported to have antiandrogenic effects ranging from gynecomastia to oligospermia [4]. In one clinical study, men administered cimetidine exhibited a significant reduction in sperm concentration compared to placebo-treated controls [35]. In another study of men receiving cimetidine for chronic duodenal ulcers, testosterone and FSH were elevated during treatment with cimetidine compared to both pre- and posttreatment levels. Moreover, these hormonal effects were associated with a reduction in mean sperm count compared to the period after drug withdrawal [34].
The histamine receptor antagonist cimetidine, used to decrease gastric acid secretion in treatment of peptic ulcer disease and esophagitis (see Chapter 14), also acts as an antiandrogen. Thus it has been reported to produce gynecomastia when given in large doses, such as those used in the treatment of patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Gynecomastia occurs in less than 1% of patients treated with the doses used in peptic ulcer disease. Cimetidine interacts with ARs approximately 0.01% as effectively as testosterone and has been used with limited effectiveness to treat hirsutism in women.
Cimetidine is a weak androgen receptor antagonist. A controlled clinical study has not found cimetidine to be effective in the treatment of hyperandrogenism.[123, 124] 5.
Cimetidine is a histamine type 2 blocker, which also binds to the androgen receptor to inhibit its function." However, this antiandrogen activity of cimetidine is weak, and the clinical benefit of its use in women with hirsutism is minimal. Thus, this drug is not recommended for the treatment of hyperandrogenism.
Cimetidine. Spence and Celestin reported a 20% incidence of gynecomastia in a prospective study of 25 male duodenal ulcer patients treated with cimetidine 1.6 g/day [13]. Symptoms developed after 4 months of treatment and regressed within a month of stopping therapy. In another prospective cohort study involving 22 patients, cimetidine caused breast changes and erectile dysfunction in 60% of men which resolved completely in all cases when switched to ranitidine [14]. In the UK general practice database of over 80,000 men, the relative risk (RR) of gynecomastia among cimetidine users was 7.2 (95% confidence interval (CI 4.5 -- 11.3)) as compared with the non-users. Users with a daily dose ‡ 1000 mg had more than 40 times the risk of developing gynecomastia than the non-users. The period of highest risk was 7 -- 12 months after starting cimetidine treatment [15]. Cimetidine blocks the androgen receptors in the breast leading to decreased androgen action causing the growth of breast tissue because of 'unopposed' estrogen action [16]. Another possible mechanism includes decreased 2-hydroxylation of estrogen leading to elevated serum estrogen levels [17]. There also are reports of cimetidine blocking testosterone biosynthesis and causing elevated prolactin levels in individual cases [18].
Cimetidine is an example of a compound that can bind directly to the heme iron of the cytochrome P450 reactive site to inhibit all cytochrome-dependent Phase I enzyme activities.13
Cimetidine. Spence and Celestin reported a 20% incidence of gynecomastia in a prospective study of 25 male duodenal ulcer patients treated with cimetidine 1.6 g/day [13]. Symptoms developed after 4 months of treatment and regressed within a month of stopping therapy. In another prospective cohort study involving 22 patients, cimetidine caused breast changes and erectile dysfunction in 60% of men which resolved completely in all cases when switched to ranitidine [14]. In the UK general practice database of over 80,000 men, the relative risk (RR) of gynecomastia among cimetidine users was 7.2 (95% confidence interval (CI 4.5 -- 11.3)) as compared with the non-users. Users with a daily dose ‡ 1000 mg had more than 40 times the risk of developing gynecomastia than the non-users. The period of highest risk was 7 -- 12 months after starting cimetidine treatment [15]. Cimetidine blocks the androgen receptors in the breast leading to decreased androgen action causing the growth of breast tissue because of 'unopposed' estrogen action [16]. Another possible mechanism includes decreased 2-hydroxylation of estrogen leading to elevated serum estrogen levels [17]. There also are reports of cimetidine blocking testosterone biosynthesis and causing elevated prolactin levels in individual cases [18].
Cimetidine. Spence and Celestin reported a 20% incidence of gynecomastia in a prospective study of 25 male duodenal ulcer patients treated with cimetidine 1.6 g/day [13]. Symptoms developed after 4 months of treatment and regressed within a month of stopping therapy. In another prospective cohort study involving 22 patients, cimetidine caused breast changes and erectile dysfunction in 60% of men which resolved completely in all cases when switched to ranitidine [14]. In the UK general practice database of over 80,000 men, the relative risk (RR) of gynecomastia among cimetidine users was 7.2 (95% confidence interval (CI 4.5 -- 11.3)) as compared with the non-users. Users with a daily dose ‡ 1000 mg had more than 40 times the risk of developing gynecomastia than the non-users. The period of highest risk was 7 -- 12 months after starting cimetidine treatment [15]. Cimetidine blocks the androgen receptors in the breast leading to decreased androgen action causing the growth of breast tissue because of 'unopposed' estrogen action [16]. Another possible mechanism includes decreased 2-hydroxylation of estrogen leading to elevated serum estrogen levels [17]. There also are reports of cimetidine blocking testosterone biosynthesis and causing elevated prolactin levels in individual cases [18].
