The current study is important as previous studies have raised questions about the effectiveness of testosterone therapy.
Advertisement
The sharpest contrast emerged between Group 1 (those who were treated and attained normal levels) and Group 3 (those whose low testosterone went untreated).
However, the research team observed a number of 83,000 patients, perusing through data collected by the Veterans Affair over the span of 15 years between 1999 and 2014.
The distinction in profit from testosterone remedy between the group restored to regular ranges and people exclusively handled for low testosterone was small, though those that obtained some sort of remedy noticed a small profit over the lads who weren’t handled, the researchers stated.
Men with low testosterone whose levels normalize with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) may enjoy lower risks of heart attack, stroke, and early death, a new study suggests. Earlier this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given the demand for doctors to caution the possible side-effects of overuse of testosterone in older men, such as an increased chance for heart attack and stroke. “Patients who failed to achieve the therapeutic range after TRT did not see a reduction in [myocardial infarction] or stroke and had significantly less benefit on mortality”. The participants were then followed-up with an average of 5 to 6 years following treatment.
Researchers analyzed records for 83,010 male veterans, splitting them three groups: Men whose treatment was to restore testosterone to normal levels; Men who were treated but whose levels did not return to normal; and men who were not treated.
“It is the first study to demonstrate that significant benefit is observed only if the dose is adequate to normalize the total testosterone levels”, Barua and his coauthors wrote. The risk of death was 56 percent lower in the men that received testosterone therapy and their levels returned to normal and their risk of heart attack was also reduced by 24 percent and stroke risk by 36 percent.
Barua and colleagues say they don’t know the exact reasons for testosterone’s apparent benefits for the heart and overall survival. “The mechanisms for these results stay speculative”, they wrote.
Additional research would be required to check the benefits of testosterone therapy, said the research team. They do speculate, however, that the result could have influenced-or been influenced by factors such as body fat, lipids, insulin sensitivity, blood platelets, other biological pathways or inflammation. Other studies resulted to the findings that over-prescribing of testosterones might lead to stroke.
Advertisement
However, 40 percent (40%) of the men who underwent testosterone replacement therapy kept having low testosterone levels. “None of the FDA-approved testosterone products are approved for use in men with low testosterone levels who lack an associated medical condition”.
