For older men who have lost their sexual drive or suffer erectile dysfunction , replen-ishing their Testosterone might be the an-swer to maintaining sexual function, a new study in the United States strongly indicates.
Testosterone, the principal male sex hor-mone, is vital for sperm production, erectile function, and maintaining sexual drive. As men age, testosterone levels naturally decrease.
Hypogonadism - a reduction or absence of hormones secreted by the testes - is thought to affect 40,per cent of men over the age of 45.
For the past 70 years, testosterone replacement therapy has been used in individuals with testosterone deficiency, whether due to disease or aging.
Although this treatment has a long history, testosterone therapy's effectiveness on sexual dysfunction in older men has not be investigated in sufficient depth.
Research has shown that testosterone treatment helps improve sexual function in younger men who have lower androgen levels due to problems with the testes, hypothalamus, or pituitary.
However, despite its widespread adoption in the aging population, there is scant evidence as to how testosterone treatment might help in the treatment of sexual dysfunction in older men. Previous studies have been limited in size and delivered contradictory or inconclusive results.
However, a comprehensive investigation, the largest placebo-controlled trial to study the effects of testosterone on sexual dysfunction in older males was recently conducted in the US. It is past of the so-called Testosterone Trials, a series of seven studies looking into hormone therapy in men over 65 years of age. The study set out to investigate the effectiveness of testosterone therapy in increasing sexual desire and function. Led by Dr. Glenn R. Cunningham, of Baylor College of Medicine and Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in Houston, TX, the study used data from 470 men.
All participants were at least 65 years old and reported having a low libido. They all had a heterosexual partner who was willing to have sexual intercourse at least twice a month. Additionally, each individual had low testosterone levels, as demonstrated by multiple measurements.
The study was conducted over a 12-month period The men either received testosterone gel - the most common form of testosterone therapy - or a placebo gel. Each participant answered a questionnaire about sexual function at the start of the study and every three months until the end of the trial.
Testosterone therapy effective
Once analyzed, the results of the study published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinol-ogy and reported online by Tim Newman showed that of the 12 sexuality measurements in the questionnaire, 10 were significantly improved for men in the testosterone group. These measures included frequency of intercourse, nighttime erections, and masturbation.
The only two measures that did not show any change were "flirting by others" and "day spontaneous erections." In comparison, the men in the placebo group showed no change across the year. As the authors conclude:
"Our findings indicata;:low testosterone is one cause contributing-to reduced libido and erectile dysfunction in older men. Men experiencing these symptoms should Iv evaluated for testosterone deficiency."
The researchers also investigated whether other factors influenced the sitrvsults, such as body mass index (BMI) diabetes, alcohol use. None were found to have a significant irnpLct.
The results infer that a low testosterone evelis at least one cause of a redaced libido and erectile dySfunetion in older men. Also tosterone therapy improves multiple measures of sexual dysfunction. As ever the more information that medical science has regarding the issue, the more it can do to intervene and rectify the situation.
Source: Saturday Sun
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