Testosterone Gel Shows Long-Term Benefits

[Q.]

Testosterone Gel Shows Long-Term Benefits

Study finds it boosts mood, sexual function, muscle mass and bone density

WEDNESDAY, May 5 (HealthDayNews) -- Men suffering from low testosterone levels can receive safe and effective treatment by using a testosterone gel.

That's the claim of a new study in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Doctors found long-term, continuous use of AndroGel testosterone gel caused rapid and sustained improvements in sexual function and mood among men with hypogonadism, or low testosterone.

The study found decreases in fat mass and increases in lean body mass following use of the gel. Gradual and progressive increases in bone mineral density in the spine and hip also occurred.

"This AndroGel study is the first to show long-term benefits and safety with testosterone gel," lead researcher Dr. Ronald Swerdloff, of the Harbor-UCLA General Clinical Research Center, said in a prepared statement. "That's great news for men suffering from low testosterone."

The doctors followed 163 hypogonadal men as they received continuous treatment for up to 42 months.

An estimated 4 million to 5 million American men have low testosterone. It affects about one in 10 men between the ages of 40 and 60, and two in 10 men older than 60.

More information

The Pituitary Network Association has more about hypogonadism (www.pituitary.org ).

--Dennis Thompson

SOURCES: Harbor-UCLA Research and Education Institute, news release, May 4, 2004

Copyright © 2004 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Last updated 5/5/2004.

This article can be accessed directly at:
http://www.healthscout.com/news/197/518727/main.html

[gardener]

Q,
I went on AndroGel about 3 years ago after my doctor diagnosed a severe case of low testosterone, and I am not in the least reluctant to admit that I take the stuff, if my testimony can help any other guy.

The day I started on AG, I was 40 pounds overweight, at least. Body fat exceeded 30%. I was generally depressed. My libido...well, let's just say that I knew I was no longer 18. I was extremely sedentary. I had developed some driving anxieties that made daily life difficult.

The effects of AG showed up in under 24 hours. It was like dark clouds lifting and the sun coming out. In my mid-60s, I felt like I was back in my 30s again. I also felt the need for physical activity. To the surprise of my doubting family I joined a gym.

Now I need to lose about 5 pounds of winter, holiday cookie fat around the abdomen, but when I do I'll be at the perfect weight for my frame. I go to the gym 3x a week, and for the past year+ it's been with a trainer who really pushes me. My BF is around 15%. My strength has pretty much returned to what it was in my early 30s. When I started out I was leg pressing under 80 pounds; now it's 350 or more. From May to November I kayak 3 x a week, maybe a total of 12 hrs.

It was the AG that pushed me towards the gym and toward the wonderful little rivers in my area. But it's now the exercise to which I attribute most of the good things. (Had I continued as I was 3+ years ago, it's quite possible that I might not be around today to give the stuff a plug.)

I'm getting a litle tired of all those evening ads for ED remedies, although the stuff is probably okay if needed. But AG really deserves to be more in the forefront of the aging male's awareness. We are more than our chemistry, surely, but a huge part of our lives is nevertheless governed by "molecules of interest."

And to answer that prying question that politeness forbids asking aloud—

Yes. Very definitely "yes."

[Johnka]

Wow, impressive results Gardener. I remember your candid testimonial on the MH forum about AG also. If it can turn people's lives around like yourself, I'm all for it.