Testosterone, Alzheimer’s, Mood and Quality of Life
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Testosterone - Men
Effects of Testosterone on Cognition and Mood in Male Patients With Mild Alzheimer Disease and Healthy Elderly Men. Lu PH, Masterman DA, Mulnard R, Cotman C, Miller B, Yaffe K, Reback E, Porter V, Swerdloff R, Cummings JL. Arch Neurol. 2005 Dec 12
From the study abstract: “There is a compelling need for therapies that prevent, defer the onset, slow the progression, or improve the symptoms of Alzheimer disease (AD).
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of testosterone therapy on cognition, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and quality of life in male patients with mild AD and healthy elderly men.
RESULTS: For the patients with AD, the testosterone-treated group had significantly greater improvements in the scores on the caregiver version of the quality-of-life scale. No significant treatment group differences were detected in the cognitive scores at end of study, although numerically greater improvement or less decline on measures of visuospatial functions was demonstrated with testosterone treatment compared with placebo.
In the healthy control group, a nonsignificant trend toward greater improvement in self-rated quality of life was observed in the testosterone-treated group compared with placebo treatment. No difference between the treatment groups was detected in the remaining outcome measures. Testosterone treatment was well tolerated with few adverse effects relative to placebo.”
CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that testosterone replacement therapy improved overall quality of life in patients with AD. Testosterone had minimal effects on cognition.
