Testosterone?

[gardener]

Today (November 13), the New York Times and the Boston Globe both carried staff-written stories about a report about testosterone issued yesterday by a committee of the Institute of Medicine. There was also an Associated Press wire-service story by Lauran Neergaard on the report.

It is fascinating to look at the divergent ways Neergaard’s story appeared in different newspapers.

In the Chicago Sun-Times, the headline reads OLDER MEN WARNED TO GO EASY ON TESTOSTERONE. And here’s the first paragraph--”Thousands of older men turn to that macho hormone testosterone in search of youthful vigor and virility, but scientists issued a big caution Wednesday: There's little evidence the therapy fights any effects of aging, much less that it's safe.”

In my local paper, the headline above Neegaard’s byline is IS TESTOSTERONE THERAPY EFFECTIVE--OR EVEN SAFE. And the first paragraph reads-- “Tens of thousands of aging men are trying testosterone shots, patches and gel in hopes of regaining youthful vigor and virility. A new report uncovers little evidence it works - or that the therapy is even safe - but recommends careful study to find out.”

The stories in the NYT and the Globe are only marginally better than the AP story. All follow the pattern of summarizing parts of the IOM report, interspersed with quotes from various medical professionals.

Fortunately, the IOM’s lengthy report, “Testosterone and Aging: Clinical Research Directions,” is available online in searchable form at--

http://www.nap.edu/books/0309090636/html/

And it is very clear that the IOM was not suggesting that males who are deficient in testosterone (have hypogonadism) should “go easy” on the stuff. In its very first page, it states: “As an FDA-approved treatment for male hypogonadism, testosterone therapy has been found to be effective in markedly hypogonadal males. Researchers have carefully explored the benefits of testosterone therapy in this population.”

What is at issue in this report is the relative benefits and risks of using testosterone therapy in males whose production of this hormone may be low, but not low enough to be diagnosed as hypogonadism--or who have only one or two symptoms of this condition. The main conclusion of the report is that the issues call for clinical study.

[Jean-Paul]

Something with which I have seen some incredible success with my older male clients is HGH replacement therapy. There is a clinic down in Houston that a few of my clients have been to that assesses them and prescribes some program of taking injectable HGH, just over 2 IU's a day for six days a week, and after about three months of therapy the difference was nothing short of astounding. It is quite expensive, but it appears to be worth every penny. Chronic injuries cleared up, skin looked healthier, lost significant amounts of bodyfat, testosterone levels increased, increase of muscle tissue (not to the extent that they looked like a bodybuilder), and they reported feeling a sense of well-being that had been absent since their 30s or 40s. I would be reluctant to see someone get on steroids because after having been in this industry for so long, I have seen the side-effects, and I have seen even the personalities of people I once liked change. But I have never seen such effects with the HGH.

I don't know who it is right for... that is what the doc is for. What I can't believe is the slough of HGH "releasing" (quotations intentional) supplements that have market in a great deluge of junk mail. Does EVERYONE sell this shit? And I do mean shit, because all of it is bunk. They show scientific studies that describe the benefits of HGH (REAL hgh), and then try to pawn off their imitation orally taken supplement on you as if that was the VERY supplement the study was talking about. Grrr!

Sorry to hijack your thread with my rant Gardener. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[gardener]

Sorry to hijack your post with my rant Gardener.

Not to worry! Actually, what I hate most is posting something and seeing a zero next to it from here to eternity. I guess nobody picked up on testosterone here (Johnka and others did on MH) because it's superabundant among members. But as you know I've been on replacement therapy for three years and it altered my life enormously for nothing but good. Taking it wasn't my idea but my doctor's, and balancing body chemistry was the spark that sent me gymward.

But about HGH I know next to nothing.

[Q.]

Originally posted by gardener:
Actually, what I hate most is posting something and seeing a zero next to it from here to eternity.

gardener,

As you probably know, some forums will show how many views a post has as well as the number of replies. I often read posts but don't feel that I have anything worthwhile to add... although I'll add something anyway in some cases! Anyway, I know exactly what you're saying and feel the same way at times but perhaps there's some consolation in knowing that there's a strong possibility that people are reading but are just not wanting to clutter up the thread with comments that don't further the discussion...?

I was thinking that you are probably accustomed to (1) a captive audience in the classroom who had BETTER give you feedback or (2) editors who may give more than you want! [img]tongue.gif[/img] In any case, I bet you're just not used to being ignored!

I read just about everything that I see that you posted... but I don't always reply. Don't be deterred by the lack of feedback! It is still appreciated.

Q

[R.B.B.]

stay with me here....it is interesting to note that not all older people who exibit signs of low testosterone, actualy have low testosterone.

there is a protein in our bodies called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). It binds itself to testosterone, making it useless. As we age we have more SHBG which binds to more testosteone, leaving us with less active testosterone.

consider the following study

"Not necessarily all muscle wasting is caused by testosterone deficiency. Levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) can become increased, leading to muscle wasting despite normal testosterone levels." Kong A and Edmonds P. Testosterone therapy in HIV wasting syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis 2(11):692-9, 2002.

In cases which replacement therapy is ineffective, it is likely that high SHBG levels are the culprit.

Luckily there are many simple lifestyle changes we can do to lower leves of SHBG, and have more "free" testosterone.

The following studies relate to SHBG and lifstyle choices.

"Increased SHBG levels in the smokers, from an increase of conitine, the primary metabolic waste product of nicotine." English, K.M., et al. (2001). Effect of cigarette smoking on levels of bioavailable testosterone in healthy men. Clinical Science. 100 :661-665. 2 Ronnemma, T., et al. (1996). Smoking is independently associated with high plasma insulin levels in nondiabetic men. Diabetes Care. 19:1229-32.

"The activity of SHBG was an average of nearly 9 percent greater on the soy diet. Since the extra SHBG tied up circulating testosterone, that led to a relative dominance of estrogen over testosterone." Habito, R.C., et al. (2000). Effects of replacing meat with soybean in the diet on sex hormone concentrations in healthy adult males. British J Nutr. 84:557-63.

"Fish oil keeps estrogen and SHBG in check." Nagata C, Takatsuka N, Kawakami N, Shimizu H. Relationships between types of fat consumed and serum estrogen and androgen concentrations in Japanese men. Nutr Cancer. 2000;38(2):163-67.

"Protein combats SHBG." Longcope C, Feldman HA, Mc Kinlay JB, Araujo AB. Diet and sex hormone-binding globulin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000 Jan; 85(1):293-6.

www.researchbasedbodybuilding. com

[Brennon]

Which is why Free (or Biolavailable) testosterone is so much more important than the eratic total testosterone. Total testosterone means nothing.

If someone has high total testosterone and low free testosteorne, that person needs some sort of Hormone Therapy.

As long as testosterone is within normal physiological ranges (upper quartile being the optimum range for most), estradiol, total estrogen, cortisol, etc. are controlled, there is NO reason not to be on testosterone repalcement therapy unless one already has prostate cancer. Remember, despite the common myth, androgens have protective qualities to them in regards to the prostate, but cause increased cell turnover which will icnrease the rate at which the cancer can grow.