Common side effects include tiredness, vomiting, headache, joint pain, high blood pressure, swelling, low blood potassium, high blood sugar, hot flashes, diarrhea, and cough.[9][2] Other severe side effects may include liver failure and adrenocortical insufficiency.[2] In males whose partners can become pregnant, birth control is recommended.[2] Supplied as abiraterone acetate it is converted in the body to abiraterone.[2] Abiraterone acetate works by suppressing the production of androgens – specifically it inhibits CYP17A1 – and thereby decreases the production of testosterone.[9] In doing so, it prevents the effects of these hormones in prostate cancer.[9]