Testosterone is the hormone that makes a man, a man.  A long standing belief in the medical community is that men at a high risk or currently being treated for prostate cancer should not undergo testerone replacement therapy.  The theory is that testosterone will encourage the growth of prostate tumors.  While many men experience a gradual reduction in testosterone levels as they age some may have extremely low levels of the hormone that create unpleasant symptoms, including erectile dysfuntion, low sex drive, mood problems, fatigue and sleep disturbances.  Out of the overall number of men whose testosterone level is significantly below normal, one half to two thirds of them experience symptoms and the change is usually insidious.  They don’t realize what is wrong or why they are suffering.

Going hand in hand with this male menopause, “andropause,” is an increase in prostate cancer as men age.  Some good news has recently surfaced from a study conducted by Abraham Morgantaler and his colleagues and published in the Journal of Urology.  The research showed that men with untreated prostate tumors did not show any progression of the disease after receiving testosterone treatment.  It was a small study with only 13 men, but it certainly brings into question the long held strategy of denying testosterone treatment.  It’s bad enough to have cancer, but suffering with low testosterone symptoms at the same time must be worse!  Let’s hope that research continues.  Men need to feel like men, even when they’re ill.

Written by www.labtestingnow.com