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takyon writes:

Do you have low T, bro? It may be affecting your "mood":

As men age, they lose testosterone — which some say affects their sense of well-being and sexual function. But for healthy older men, using supplemental testosterone as a remedy has been controversial. Past studies of the supplement's use have been relatively small, and the evidence about benefits and risks has been mixed.

Now a well-designed study published [open, DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1506119] online Wednesday, in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirms certain benefits in sexual function and mood for some men 65 and over, at least in the first year. Though the gains were modest, and some tended to wane in the latter months of treatment, researchers say the findings are encouraging, and merit further research.

[...] The University of Pittsburgh was one of 12 sites nationwide that collaborated to look at the possible benefits of testosterone in older men whose levels of the hormone were below 275 ng per deciliter of blood — that's just below the wide range that many doctors consider "normal" for healthy, younger men.

The scientists screened more than 51,000 men who were 65 or older for their study, and from that group found 790 with low testosterone, as measured by a blood test. The researchers say the study wasn't designed to get at whether the men had lost the hormone more rapidly than others, or whether they produced less testosterone to begin with. About half the participants were given testosterone gel, and the other half a placebo gel. Until the first year of the study was over, neither the participants nor the researchers knew which men were getting the placebo.

"The testosterone concentrations in the men in this trial [who got the active treatment] were increased, on average, to just the middle of the normal range for young men," says endocrinologist Dr. Peter Snyder, of the University of Pennsylvania, who led the study. After a year, Snyder says, though the benefits were only moderate, it was clear that mood and physical activity had improved among the group that had been getting a boost of testosterone. And the biggest improvement, he says, was in sexual function. "Testosterone improved sexual activity, sexual desire and improved erectile function," Snyder says.

[...] Past research has suggested that increasing testosterone levels might also increase the risk for of heart attack and stroke, or lead to prostate issues. But Snyder says, so far, his team of scientists has found no increase in adverse events among those taking the hormone. Still, that doesn't mean testosterone supplements are safe to take long-term, he says. To get those answers, he says, far more research is needed — larger studies that last longer periods of time.

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