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Andropause
Andropause is a medical phenomenon, similar to the female menopause, that can affect men between the ages of 40 and 55. Unlike women, men do not have a clear-cut signpost such as the cessation of menstruation to mark this transition. Both, however, are distinguished by a drop in hormone levels. Estrogen in the female, testosterone in the male. The bodily changes occur very gradually in men and may be accompanied by changes in attitudes and moods, fatigue, a loss of energy, sex drive and physical agility.Studies show that this decline in testosterone can put men at risk for other health problems such as heart disease and weak bones.
Unlike menopause, which generally occurs in women during their mid-forties to mid-fifties, men's "transition" may be much more gradual and expand over many decades. Attitude, psychological stress, alcohol, injuries or surgery, medications, obesity and infections can contribute to its onset.
Although with age, a decline in testosterone levels will occur
in virtually all men, there is no way of predicting who will experience
andropausal symptoms of sufficient severity to seek medical help.
Neither is it predictable at what age symptoms will occur in a particular
individual. Each man's symptoms may also be different.
Contents
History
Andropause was first described in medical literature in the 1940s, but our ability to diagnose it is relatively new. Sensitive diagnostic tests, unavailable until the past decade, allowed andropause to remain a topic of debate among endocrinologists and men's health professionals. The idea that men, as well as women, might be subject to sex hormone fluctuations in later life has been a difficult one for many to accept. Today, there is an increased interest among medical researchers in the physical and psychological changes brought by men's aging. Still, the research is incomplete and, while the facts of the condition seem self-evident to many, more investigation is required for universal acceptance to be justified.
Diagnosis and treatment
Andropause routinely escapes diagnosis because symptoms can be
vague and can vary greatly among individuals. Furthermore, while
the female analog of this life change has a distinctive and sudden
onset, production of the male hormone begins to decline as early
as age 30 and proceeds over the next three, four or five decades
until death. While the creeping symptoms of andropause are often
dismissed by both patients and professionals as "what happens
as we age" some have begun to consider them as signs of a disease
state of which premature aging is merely another symptom. A diagnosis
of Hypogonadism (also seen in younger men) often serves as a gateway
to consideration of the broader condition. Once the condition is
discovered, it is a straightforward (although somewhat involved)
process of replacing the missing testosterone by injection, locally
applied hormone gel, trans-dermal patch or implanted cartridge.
The complicating factor in male hormone replacement is found in
the highly individual nature of what is considered normal. Any given
man could function optimally at a blood level one-half to one-third
of another. In hormone replacement more is not better since an excess
of testosterone beyond a man's customary blood levels can have quite
unpleasant and even dangerous effects. Medical supervision is a
must.
Causes
In the normal functioning of the male hormonal system, the vast majority of testosterone is bound to either of two blood components which transport it around the body and help regulate its function. These compounds - Sex Hormone Binding Globulin and albumin - tie up a full 97 to 98 percent of testosterone making it unavailable to the body's tissues. The remaining 2-3% actually does the beneficial work and is known as "bioavailable" or free testosterone. Furthermore, the receptor sites where testosterone must bind to be effective can also be occupied by estradiol, an estrogen also found in the male body which increases with age and body weight. In older men, especially age 60 and beyond, it becomes common to see that the body just doesn't have enough testosterone that is needed to do all the work it is supposed to.
While the concept of "normal" testosterone levels remains
subject to various interpretations, a man whose total blood serum
testosterone levels fall below 350 nanograms per deciliter will
very likely experience andropausal symptoms to include erectile
dysfunction, loss of muscle mass, irritability, generalized fatigue
and even problems with memory and cognition. Free Testosterone levels
below 6.0 picograms per milliliter can also trigger symptoms. These
symptoms can seriously interfere with quality of life and men over
age 50 are increasingly seen in doctors offices complaining of "not
being the man they used to be". Other longer-term risks of
low testosterone are gradually coming to light. Testosterone plays
a role in maintaining cardio-vascular health, prevention of bone
thinning (osteoporosis) leading to low-impact hip fracture, and
a variety of other body functions.
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Andropause In The News:
European Menopause And Andropause Society Publishes Four Position Statements ... - Medical News Today (press release)
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:02:10 GMT+00:00 European Menopause and Andropause Society's position statements on post ... - News-Medical.net
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:50:34 GMT+00:00 EMAS publishes position statements about the post-reproductive health of women - R & D Magazine
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:49:18 GMT+00:00 Bioidentical Hormones Expert Marlynn Núñez, M.D. Joins BodyLogicMD of Miami - EON: Enhanced Online News (press release)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:57:17 GMT+00:00 EMAS publishes position statements about the post-reproductive health of women - Eureka! Science News
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:04:41 GMT+00:00 EMAS publishes position statements about the post-reproductive health of women - ScienceBlog.com (blog)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:48:43 GMT+00:00 EMAS publishes position statements about the post-reproductive health of women - PhysOrg.com (press release)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:22:44 GMT+00:00 EMAS publishes position statements about the post-reproductive health of women - EurekAlert (press release)
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:17:33 GMT+00:00 Yikes! I'm living in hormone hell - Vancouver Sun
Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:58:40 GMT+00:00 The worlds of menopause, andropause - The Herald
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:07:58 GMT+00:00 Page: 1 |