A new study has recently been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that discusses the association of testosterone therapy with the risks of death, heart attack and stroke in men with low testosterone levels.
A4M member, Fellow and the Director of Sexual Health Treatment Certification, Jennifer Landa, MD, OB/GYN, FAARFM recently responded to this study with a blog on HuffPost on November 11, 2013.
Dr. Landa indicated there were multiple problems with the study as well as the fact that the study misses so many important facets of general testosterone replacement therapy that the results are practically meaningless. She stated that multiple prior studies have shown the opposite of the JAMA study’s results and that testosterone therapy may protect against heart disease and decrease mortality risks. She clarifies that based on these prior studies, men with lower testosterone levels are at a higher risk of mortality, while men with higher levels are protected against cardiovascular disease and mortality. She goes on to say that while there are several risk factors of testosterone replacement therapy, those factors tend to not be addressed by doctors who prescribe testosterone hormone therapy in general.
Dr. Landa continues to explain that there are other levels that must be followed when one is placed on testosterone therapy and this relates back to doctors not addressing risk factors initially with patients. “A study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in 2009 showed that testosterone treated men readily convert testosterone to estrogen in a dose dependent manner which means the higher the dose of testosterone, the higher the level of estrogen. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association also in 2009 showed that men with heart disease with both low levels of estrogen and high levels of estrogen had increased mortality. Since estrogen levels were not assessed in the men in the current JAMA study, it is impossible to know whether subjects had high or low estrogen levels. The prior research states that estrogen levels must be kept in a middle range for optimal survival.”
Testosterone Therapy is a substantial part of Anti-Aging Medicine and Dr. Landa sums up that without proper knowledge from research studies and medical professionals, testosterone therapy gets a bad reputation before anyone knows the benefits such as increased protection against serious diseases and a decreased risk of mortality.
This December at the 21st Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging, Regenerative & Aesthetic Medicine hosted by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M), Dr. Abraham Morgentaler will present a specialty workshop on Testosterone Deficiency and Therapy in Men. Some topics covered include how to diagnose, treatments, how to monitor, among others.
For more information or to register for this event please call 888.997.0112 or visit www.a4m.com.