As men age, there is a decrease in testicular production of testosterone, as well as an increase in sex hormone transporting globulin, which act to decrease bioavailable testosterone. With this gradual decline, the beneficial effects of testosterone may diminish and negatively affect physical and emotional well-being. At our TRT Clinic in Edina MN, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is a reasonable treatment option that is often tested for men with low testosterone levels and symptoms of hypogonadism. When replaced, many of the positive effects of testosterone. These positive results have led to a dramatic increase in the use of testosterone substitutes in men with symptomatic hypogonadism, although long-term data on their safety is lacking.
Although older men who are treated with testosterone have an increase in overall prostate size, this increase in size is no different from the increase in prostatic hypertrophy seen in older men who are not being treated with testosterone. However, testosterone deprivation and its temporary effects may be totally different from those of the onset of testosterone action in testosterone treatment, even on the same parameter. Your doctor will likely measure your testosterone levels at least twice before recommending testosterone therapy. Exercise capacity in men with chronic heart failure increased after 12 weeks (60), while the heart rate (cardiac output related to body surface area) had already increased after 180 minutes. Hypogonadism hinders the ability to produce normal amounts of testosterone because of a problem in the testicles or in the pituitary gland that controls the testicles.
Therefore, the less hypogonadal the subject is, the greater the increase in circulating testosterone values for the subject to “perceive” the effect, and the longer the duration of treatment to achieve an instrument-measurable difference in the desired outcome (. Testosterone is the hormone responsible for the development of male external genitalia and secondary sexual characteristics. In patients with venoocclusive dysfunction, testosterone undecanoate restored erectile function after a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 11.5 months (7). Whether this is a true form of hypogonadism or a decrease in serum testosterone associated with the progressive accumulation of health problems with aging (95, 9) is still hotly debated, but rather regardless of the aging process itself.
From studies that analyzed the effects of administering testosterone for 36 months (25, 2), an increase was observed over that period of time and it was not clear if the maximum effects of testosterone in improving bone mineral were achieved after 36 months. Men treated with TRT should be monitored for side effects such as polycythemia, peripheral oedema, and heart and liver dysfunction. While no clear link has been established, men receiving TRT should be counseled about the risk of possible sleep apnea when starting treatment. Erectile dysfunction can serve as an example of compound dysfunction in which arterial endothelial function, neural integrity, testosterone concentrations and psychological factors play a fundamental role (3,, almost preventing a direct relationship between testosterone levels and erectile dysfunction).
Although small-scale studies show acceptable benefits and risks of treating older men with lower than normal testosterone levels (46, 9), a verdict can only be reached with large scale studies involving 5000 men over 5 years of age (9), for whom funding is currently not available. Following the administration of testosterone, there is a decrease in fat mass and an increase in lean body mass, and the net result is often, but not always, that total body weight does not show significant changes.
