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.”

Montalcini T, Gorgone G, Gazzaruso C, Sesti G, Perticone F, Pujia A. Endogenous testosterone and endothelial function in postmenopausal women Coron Artery Dis. 2007 Feb;18(1):9-13.

OBJECTIVE: It is well known that coronary heart disease incidence increases in women after menopause. This phenomenon was related to reduced levels of female sex hormones. Estrogen decline, however, is not the only hormonal change during the postmenopausal period and estrogen administration did not protect women from cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is justified to explore other hormonal changes. The role of androgens is still controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between endogenous sex hormones and endothelial function, measuring the brachial artery flow-mediated dilation.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty postmenopausal women were consecutively enrolled and underwent a clinical and biochemical examination. Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation was also evaluated by ultrasound. After correction for confounding variables, testosterone was positively correlated to flow-mediated dilation (beta=0.277, P=0.03). Indeed, women in the lowest testosterone tertile had a flow-mediated dilation smaller than that in the highest tertile (P=0.02).

CONCLUSIONS: This result could suggest that the development of cardiovascular disease after menopause is due not only to estrogen decline but also to androgen decline. More studies are needed to evaluate the role of androgen replacement therapy on postmenopausal women with low level of this hormone.

Testosterone for Men Studies and News Items

Testosterone replacement therapy and the risk of prostate cancer
The article says “The belief that testosterone increases the risk of prostate cancer is so widely accepted that study after study that tries to show it and can’t keeps getting repeated over and over,” says Dr. Abraham Morgentaler, a Boston urologist and author of the 2004 review. “People don’t believe it.”

Testosterone and Reduction in Cardiovascular Risk
Researchers writing in the European Journal of Endocrinology say that “Testosterone replacement therapy reduces insulin resistance and improves glycaemic control in hypogonadal men with type 2 diabetes. Improvements in glycaemic control, insulin resistance, cholesterol and visceral adiposity together represent an overall reduction in cardiovascular risk.”

Testosterone, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease
New research says Testosterone may have a protective role in the development of metabolic syndrome and subsequent diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease in aging men.

Testosterone’s favorable effects on an important metabolic component of chronic heart failure
Researchers writing in the European Journal of Heart Failure say that testosterone improves fasting insulin sensitivity in men with chronic heart failure and may also increase lean body mass, these data suggest a favorable effect of testosterone on an important metabolic component of CHF.

Low Testosterone and men over 45
Researchers writing in the International Journal of Clinical Practice, studied the prevalence of hypogonadism (testosterone deficiency) in men age 45 and over.

Androgen Deficiency, Metabolic Syndrome and Non-Obese Men
Researchers writing in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism report that “Low SHBG, total testosterone, or AD (Androgen Deficiency) may be early markers of MetS (Metabolic Syndrome) in nonobese men.

More Body Mass…Diminished Testosterone
Researchers writing in the medical journal Archives of Andrology say total testosterone and SHBG concentrations proportionally diminished with both the increase of BMI (body mass index) and insulin resistance index.

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.

Low Testosterone and the Pro-Inflammatory State in Aging Men
Researchers writing in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation “suggest that a close relationship exists between the development of a pro-inflammatory state and the decline in Testosterone levels, two trends that are often observed in aging men”

Testosterone Replacement Therapy and the Risk of Prostate Cancer. Is there a link?
Writing in the Canadian Journal of Urology, Researcher Abraham Morgentaler of the Division of Urology, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, says that “there is an absence of scientific data supporting the concept that higher testosterone levels are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.

Testosterone’s favorable effects on an important metabolic component of chronic heart failure
Researchers writing in the European Journal of Heart Failure say that testosterone improves fasting insulin sensitivity in men with chronic heart failure and may also increase lean body mass, these data suggest a favorable effect of testosterone on an important metabolic component of CHF.

Testosterone, Alzheimer’s, Mood and Quality of Life
A study suggets that that testosterone replacement therapy improved overall quality of life in patients with Alzheimers Disease.

Estradiol, Testosterone, and Hip Fractures in Men
Researchers writing in The American Journal of Medicine say “Men with low estradiol levels are at an increased risk for future hip fracture. Men with both low estradiol and low testosterone levels seem to be at greatest risk for hip fracture.” Read more

Testosterone and Prostate Cancer
Is there a link between testosterone and prostate cancer?
According to a new study, “there is not now-nor has there ever been-a scientific basis for the belief that Testosterone causes pCA (Prostate Cancer) to grow.”

Testosterone and Prostate Cancer
A new paper published in the medical journal Current Treatment Options in Oncology says that “there is a varied and extensive literature indicating that TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) does not pose any increased risk of PCa (Prostate Cancer) growth in men with or without prior treatment.”

Low testosterone levels are associated with coronary artery disease
Researchers say that low testosterone levels are associated with
coronary artery disease in male patients with angina.

Low Testosterone Levels and Mortality
Researchers writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine examined “whether low testosterone levels are a risk factor for mortality in male veterans.”

Subclinical Hypothyroidism and Testosterone Deficiency
Researchers writing in the International Journal of Andrology say that there is “a direct association between subclinical hypothyroidism and hypoandrogenaemia. Testosterone deficiency and its symptoms should be kept in view while managing subclinical hypothyroidism in male patients.”

Testosterone and Prostate
Research published in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology says “Data from all published prospective studies on circulating level of total and free testosterone do not support the hypothesis that high levels of circulating androgens are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.”

Testosterone and Cognitive Function
A new study in the European Journal of Endocrinology says “Low endogenous levels of testosterone may be related to reduced cognitive ability, and testosterone substitution may improve some aspects of cognitive ability.”

Testosterone and Muscle Strength in the Elderly
Researchers writing in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society suggest that testosterone/DHT therapy may produce a moderate increase in muscle strength in men.

Testosterone and the Aging Male
A published report in the medical journal Aging Male says “The wide-ranging benefits of testosterone therapy in young and old men are clear and it appears that the route of administration (intramuscular, oral, or transdermal) does not alter this fact, but future work could illustrate even more profound effects of testosterone (e.g., in reducing cardiovascular risk) that could result in its recommended use in a wider range of patients.”

Testosterone-insulin sensitivity and men with heart failure
Researchers writing in the European Journal of Heart Failure say “Testosterone improves fasting insulin sensitivity in men with CHF and may also increase lean body mass, these data suggest a favourable effect of testosterone on an important metabolic component of CHF”

Testosterone, Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome
Recent research in the International Journal of Impotence Research say testosterone may have a protective role in the development of metabolic syndrome and subsequent diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease in aging men. However, clinical trials are needed to confirm this assumption.

Hypoandrogen-metabolic syndrome in men
Researchers writing in the International Journal of Clinical Practice say Men with (Hypoandrogen-metabolic syndrome) and symptoms of androgen deficiency may be managed by, in the absence of contraindications, testosterone replacement therapy along with weight reduction and other measures to normalise glucose, lipid and blood pressure control.

Testosterone and Ischemic Heart Disease
Researchers writing in Cardiovascular & Hematological Disorders Drug Targets examined lower testosterone levels in patients with ischemic heart disease.