Can the so-called 'male menopause' be treated with HRT?

ConclusionThis study found that offering men testosterone when they reported symptoms usually described by men with low testosterone caused a reduction in their symptoms. This was despite 83% of the men having testosterone levels considered to be in the normal range, above 10nmol/l. The authors say that treating people according to symptoms should be more important than basing it on testosterone blood levels alone. They say these blood levels may be inaccurate, and some individuals may naturally need higher levels of testosterone than others. This is an interesting concept worthy of further robust study. However, there are potentially serious side effects reported with testosterone therapy, and this study does not address these risks or provide evidence that more people should be treated. This study's findings have many limitations: Because of the nature of the study, there was no placebo group to act as a control. The study was retrospective, which is a less reliable type of study than prospective trials. The men did not have a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of low testosterone, and the research relied on self-reported symptoms. The authors say the men's blood results may have been in the normal range for their age, but this may be lower than their individual level used to be. While this is a plausible conclusion, it is not backed by the evidence – the study did not measure each man's testosterone levels when they had no symptoms. Additionally, guidelines recomm...
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