Men lose testosterone with aging

“What makes men act the way they do?” one annoyed woman asked her friend. She replied, “It’s testosterone, stupid.”

One of the reasons men differ from women is that they produce 10 times more testosterone. But, alas, this doesn’t last forever.

To obtain the latest information on male menopause, or andropause, I recently attended the Third World Congress on the Aging Male in Berlin.

Studies shatter beliefs
Speaking to more than 1,000 doctors, Dr. Robert Josse, a University of Toronto endocrinologist, said, “We used to think that when men suffered fractures, they were due to trauma or long-term alcohol use, which can weaken bone density. This belief has been shattered by recent studies.”
He cited research in which X-rays and bone scans were carried out on 3,000 men and 6,000 women over the age of 50.

The result made everyone sit up and take notice:  

&ltLI25 per cent of the men and women had osteoporosis and spinal fractures.

Men have osteoporosis
The Osteoporosis Society of Canada states that:

• One in eight men over the age of 50 has osteoporosis.
• 30 per cent of osteoporotic fractures occur in men.
• They then die at a rate three times greater than women with fractures.
• Half of the men with either a spinal or hip fracture lack testosterone.

Dr. Malcolm Carruthers, a London, England, endocrinologist, has used testosterone to treat aging males for years. He reported that, at age 30, the level of testosterone in men starts to drop 10 per cent every decade.

Lost testosterone impact
Like women, males can become depressed, fatigued, irritable, unable to concentrate, lose time from work due to back pain and fatigue and complain of joint pain.

They also have decreased desire for sex and suffer from erectile dysfunction.

Carruthers calls testosterone the “hormone of kings.” He’s had great experience treating tycoons, captains of industry and politicians, and says these movers and shakers need higher doses of testosterone than less ambitious males to restore their competitive edge.

So how do you prevent broken bones and the need to tell your partner you have a headache?

Next page: Build bone mass

Build bone mass
To prevent osteoporosis, it’s imperative you start early in life to build bone mass. The best insurance is to drink three glasses of milk daily to ensure the right amount of calcium.

Vitamin D supplements are helpful.
And don’t become a couch potato: exercise keeps bones strong.
If your sex life leaves much to be desired, bite the bullet and ask the doctor about testosterone therapy.

Test for testosterone
Carruthers stresses that doctors must test for bioavailable testosterone rather than total testosterone to diagnose andropause. This is because about 97 per cent of testosterone is handcuffed to other blood particles and, therefore, biologically inactive. Patients with low bioavailable testosterone can be prescribed intra-muscular injections and skin patches.

An oral preparation, Andriol, is also widely prescribed throughout the world.

Why Viagra fails
What about males who are taking Viagra with disappointing results? Dr. John Morley, a U.S. endocrinologist, says that about 30 per cent of males experience total failure.

Another 30 per cent only get moderate results. He claims this happens because there’s not enough bioavailable testosterone to react with Viagra.

All the more reason to discuss this problem with your doctor.