Sandbox 45673: Difference between revisions
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You may include any references to papers as in: the use of JSmol in Proteopedia <ref>DOI 10.1002/ijch.201300024</ref> or to the article describing Jmol <ref>PMID:21638687</ref> to the rescue. | You may include any references to papers as in: the use of JSmol in Proteopedia <ref>DOI 10.1002/ijch.201300024</ref> or to the article describing Jmol <ref>PMID:21638687</ref> to the rescue. | ||
== Function == | ==Function== | ||
Finasteride is a synthetic 4-azasteroid compound that acts as a 5α-reductase inhibitor. The 5α-reductase enzyme is very important in the metabolism of many of the steroids produced by the body, in particular the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). For this reason, Finasteride is used as a treatment for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), which is caused by an overproduction of DHT in the male prostate. Pattern hair loss, another condition in men, caused by the build up of DHT, can also be treated with Finasteride. To see what Finasteride looks like unbound, click this link: <scene name='74/745970/Finasteride_unbound/1'>FIT</scene>. | |||
== Structure== | |||
==Structure== | |||
Finasteride belongs to the subclass of steroids called azasteroids. All steroids contain a core structure called gonane, a structure composed of 3 cyclohexane rings and 1 cyclopentane ring "fused" together. Although gonane has 6 chirality centers, giving it 64 possible steroisomers, the majority of steroids contain the 5α-gonane stereoisomer. The function and naming of steroids are determined by what functional groups are attached to the rings of gonane and by the substitution of carbon atoms in the rings with different atoms. | Finasteride belongs to the subclass of steroids called azasteroids. All steroids contain a core structure called gonane, a structure composed of 3 cyclohexane rings and 1 cyclopentane ring "fused" together. Although gonane has 6 chirality centers, giving it 64 possible steroisomers, the majority of steroids contain the 5α-gonane stereoisomer. The function and naming of steroids are determined by what functional groups are attached to the rings of gonane and by the substitution of carbon atoms in the rings with different atoms. | ||
