Testosterone Gel Improves Sexual Function In Older Men

Testosterone gel successfully improves sexual function and mood in older men with low levels of testosterone, according to a recent study.

The benefits and harms of testosterone therapy have been debated, with previous research showing inconsistent results. To further examine the effects of testosterone treatment, researchers assigned 790 men  65 years old or older to receive either testosterone gel or placebo for 1 year. All participants had serum testosterone concentrations of less than 275 ng per deciliter and symptoms of hypoandrogenism.
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At baseline and after 6, 9, and 12 months, participants completed questionnaires regarding their sexual and physical function as well as their mood, vitality, and whether they had any symptoms of depression.

Overall, testosterone gel successfully restored blood testosterone levels to those comparable to men between the ages of 19 and 40 years. Compared with placebo, men receiving testosterone gel showed significant improvement in sexual function and mood.

“In symptomatic men 65 years of age or older, raising testosterone concentrations for 1 year from moderately low to the mid-normal range for men 19 to 40 years of age had a moderate benefit with respect to sexual function and some benefit with respect to mood and depressive symptoms but no benefit with respect to vitality or walking distance,” they concluded.

“The number of participants was too few to draw conclusions about the risks of testosterone treatment.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Snyder PJ, Bhasin S, Cunningham GR, et al. Effects of testosterone treatment in older men. N Engl J Med. 2016; 374:611-624.