Long-term testosterone (T) therapy, at physiologic levels, eases components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in hypogonadal men, according to researchers.
Abdulmaged M. Traish, MBA, PhD, of the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues studied 255 men aged 33-69 years with subnormal T levels (mean 9.93 nmol/L) and at least mild symptoms of testosterone deficiency assessed by the Aging Males’ symptoms scale. All men received treatment with parenteral T undecanoate 1,000 mg administered at baseline and six weeks and thereafter every 12 weeks for up to 60 months.
T therapy restored physiologic T levels and resulted in reductions in total cholesterol from 281.58 to 188.12 mg/dL, the researchers reported online ahead of print in the International Journal of Clinical Practice. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol declined from 163.79 to 109.84 mg/dL, triglycerides decreased from 276.16 to 189.78 mg/dL, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased from 56.17 to 58.85 mg/dL). All of the changes were statistically significant.
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In addition, the investigators observed significant declines in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c, C-reactive protein, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase.
“These findings suggest that T therapy in hypogonadal men may prove useful in reducing the risk of cardiometabolic diseases,” the authors concluded.
