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| |  Testosterone Therapy Improves Metabolic Syndrome, Liver Steatosis in Hypogonadal Men: Presented at ENDO 09 By Crina Frincu-Mallos, PhD WASHINGTON, DC -- June 22, 2009 -- Using testosterone undecanoate (TU) to restore plasma testosterone levels to normal in hypogonadal men leads to significant improvements in metabolic syndrome and liver steatosis, according to research presented here at the Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting (ENDO 09). "A large number of studies have established a relationship between abdominal obesity and cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, elevated levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoproteins and low levels of high-density lipoproteins, impaired glucose tolerance…" said lead author Farid Saad, MD, Scientific Affairs Men's Healthcare, Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Berlin, Germany, in a poster presentation on June 12. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of testosterone administration on the metabolic syndrome of middle-aged to elderly hypogonadal men, also studying its impact on liver functions (AST/ALT) and C-reactive protein (CRP). A cohort of 122 hypogonadal men with mean age 59.5 years (range, 36-69 years) participated in the study. At baseline, the patients' testosterone levels were between 5.9 to 12.1 nmol/L. All patients were treated with parenteral TU for 24 to 30 months and were examined periodically during treatment. "After receiving TU for 6 months, their body mass index, waist circumference, and low-density and high-density lipoprotein were improved," said Dr. Saad. Similarly, their serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels decreased towards the end of the first year of treatment, and then remained stable for the duration of the study. The mean tryglyceride levels after treatment with TU were 195 mg/dL, down from 312 mg/dL before treatment. As mentioned above, LDL levels decreased after treatment as well, from 164 to 134 mg/dL, whereas HDL levels increased from 36.5 to 54.6 mg/dL. Along with the improvements in the metabolic syndrome, there was a continuous decline of CRP, noted the investigators, in addition to declines in AST values over the first 12 months and in ALT values over the first 18 months of the study. Funding for this study was provided by Bayer Schering. [Presentation title: Testosterone Administration to Elderly Hypogonadal Men Improves the Metabolic Syndrome, C-Reactive Protein and Liver Steatosis. Abstract P3-308]
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