Testosterone Research and News Items

Testosterone and Libido in Post Menopausal Women
Researchers writing in the medical journal Gynecological Endocrinology say that there is emerging evidence that androgens are significant independent determinants affecting libido and satisfaction, as well as mood, energy and other components of women's health.

Testosterone in postmenopausal women
An article in the medical journal Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology says that testosterone therapy is a promising option for treating women with HSDD (very low libido or desire)

Testosterone enhances libido and decreases depression
Researchers reporting in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences say Testosterone enhances libido and decreases depression.

Schutter, et al. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci.2005; 17: 372-377. Depression Administration of Testosterone Increases Functional Connectivity in a Cortico-Cortical Depression Circuit.

From the abstract: "Increasing evidence suggests that the steroid hormone testosterone (T) enhances libido and decreases depression. Even a single administration of T (0.5 mg sublingually) in healthy young women is sufficient to enhance physiological sexual responsiveness...." Read the abstract at:
http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/3/372

Testosterone For Libido Loss In Women
September 19, 2005's Washington Post reported "a position statement from the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and published in its journal, Menopause," that testosterone therapy may aid many post-menopausal women dealing with loss of libido. You can read the Washington Post article here.

Study: An overview of testosterone deficiency and supplementation in women.
Davis SR, Androgen treatment in women. MJA 1999;170:545-549.

The researchers state: "Women reporting loss of libido may find physicians insufficiently empathetic, and a biological cause for sexual dysfunction in women is rarely sought. However, it is gradually becoming more accepted that androgen deficiency in women may underpin a variety of symptoms and pathophysiological conditions and that, in selected women, androgen replacement therapy is of clinical benefit."

"Testosterone insufficiency in women: fact or fiction?"
Guay, A, Davis SR. Testosterone insufficiency in women: fact or fiction? World Journal of Urology 2002;20(2):106-10.

The researchers state: "Androgen deficiency is a true medical condition in both pre- and post-menopausal women. The most important recommendation is to listen to the patient and consider androgen deficiency when the symptoms are present, even if they seem non-specific...Treatment with androgens has to be monitored carefully because of the possible harmful effects of excessive levels of testosterone." 

Bone Loss and Testosterone in Women with Anorexia Nervosa
A study is being recruited, Anne Klibanski, M.D., Principal Investigator, by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) to determine among other things if low dose testosterone will be a benefit in preventing bone loss in women with Anorexia Nervosa.

From the abstract: "Women with Anorexia Nervosa have been found to have low bone density. The study will determine whether administration of low doses of a natural hormone, testosterone and/or risedronate, a medication to help prevent bone breakdown will improve or prevent bone loss in this condition."
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00089843?order=10

Testosterone Beneficial for Libido and Cholesterol
Researchers reviewing the current medical literature on the role of Testosterone in enhancing libido in post-menopausal women say; "The available evidence is that adding testosterone to estrogen therapy, with or without progestin, appears to be effective in improving sexual function in postmenopausal women and is associated with a reduction in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol."

The findings appear in The Cochrane Library, the abstract and summary of this article is at: http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab004509.html

Low testosterone levels - higher risk of anemia
Researchers writing in the Archives of Internal Medicine say that Older men and women with low testosterone levels have a higher risk of anemia.

HRT, Testosterone and Post Menopausal Women - Problems of Sexual Dysfunction
Researchers writing in the medical journal Maturitas say that HRT along with testosterone supplementation helps postmenopausal women who complain of problems related to intimacy.

Women, Testosterone and Cardiovascular Disease
Researchers writing in the medical journal Coronary Artery Disease say that their study "could suggest that the development of cardiovascular disease after menopause is due not only to estrogen decline but also to androgen decline."

The Use of Testosterone with Estrogen and Progestogen and Its Effect on Breast Cell Proliferation

Researchers writing in the medical journal Menopause say "Addition of testosterone may counteract breast cell proliferation as induced by estrogen/progestogen therapy in postmenopausal women."