Testosterone treatment found to benefit bone density in older men

According to a US study published in the JAMA and JAMA Internal Medicine, a new hormone treatment for healthy bones could benefit older men with low testosterone but it may also increase their risk of heart problems.

The levels of testosterone in men gradually decrease naturally as they age, causing symptoms such as low libido and erectile dysfunction. However, there is continued debate about where the testosterone treatment cut-off level should sit.

Currently, businesses selling testosterone direct to consumers in the US is blooming, while UK legislation means buyers can only procure the treatment through doctors’ prescriptions, although many buy the drugs online.

The US trials conducted treatments on 700 men, 65 or older, with moderately low testosterone levels, linked to no obvious medical conditions. Half were given testosterone gel, applied to the skin, while the other half were given a placebo gel containing no testosterone.

The men were monitored for a year, and results from the study indicated the testosterone gel treatment resulted in an increased bone density and a reduced change of having anaemia. However, it also revealed no real change in memory or cognition and a build-up of soft deposits in the blood vessels of the heart muscle, which could increase the risk of heart problems.

Dr Channa Jayasena, an expert at Imperial College London and a spokesman for the UK Society for Endocrinology, said: "The message here is to select the correct patients who will benefit from testosterone therapy, but not treat it as a wonder-drug."