Do Female Sex Steroids Adversely or Beneficially Affect the Depressed Immune Responses in Males After Trauma-Hemorrhage?

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Abstract
SEVERAL STUDIES indicate that immune functions are markedly depressed in male subjects after trauma-hemorrhage and that these changes persist for as long as 10 days after resuscitation.1,2 Furthermore, testosterone has been shown to play a significant role in producing immunodepression after trauma-hemorrhage. Support for this notion comes from studies that indicate that depletion of testosterone by castration of male mice before the insult prevents the depression of splenocyte immune functions.3,4 Furthermore, administration of a testosterone receptor antagonist, ie, flutamide, in healthy male animals after trauma-hemorrhage restored the depressed immune responses and increased the survival rate of animals subjected to subsequent sepsis.5,6