Hormone Health

HORMONE HEALTH

MALE

FACT EXPLAINED

A common misconception is that testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) increases a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer. Importantly, TRT has not been associated with clinically significant increases in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or an increased risk of prostate cancer. 

No association has been established between testosterone concentrations and PSA or the risk of developing prostate cancer. However, among men with prostate cancer, low testosterone has been associated with adverse prognostic features, including higher stage cancer, higher Gleason scores, higher frequency of positive surgical margins, and decreased overall survival with metastatic disease, which means men with low testosterone levels at the time of diagnosis of prostate cancer do worse overall than men with normal or higher testosterone levels at the time of diagnosis. 

Consistent with previous, smaller investigations, in a review of 103 hypogonadal men with prostate cancer and undetectable PSA following radical prostatectomy treated with TRT, there were no differences in the rates of biochemical recurrence compared to a reference group of 50 non-hypogonadal men. In both groups, biochemical recurrences were seen in men with high-risk features (Gleason score eight or higher, positive surgical margins or lymph nodes), suggesting the characteristics of the cancer themselves drive recurrences versus testosterone levels or replacement.

When managed by a doctor, a healthy and safe increase of testosterone in men can help to reduce symptoms of:
• Weight gain
• Brain fog
• Decreased sexual desire
• Muscle pain/recovery after working out
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Erectile dysfunction
• And more

HORMONE HEALTH

FEMALE

FACT EXPLAINED

Testosterone is not just a male hormone. It’s also the most abundant biologically active steroid hormone in women’s bodies — crucial for female development and well-being. Testosterone isn’t just a sex hormone either. In men and women, receptors for the hormone are found in almost all tissues, and it contributes to lean body mass, bone density, muscle mass, cognitive function and mood, among other attributes. It tends to decline along with estradiol and progesterone around menopause. 

Both testosterone and the (more well recognized) female sex hormone estrogen were identified in the context of scientists’ search for the chemical essences of maleness and femaleness, an origin story that helps explain the tenacity of the “sex hormone” label.

Labeling testosterone as the male sex hormone suggests that it is restricted to men and is alien to women’s bodies, and obfuscates the fact that women also produce and require testosterone as part of healthy functioning. Even the earliest hormone researchers understood that testosterone has wide-ranging effects on metabolism, liver function, bones, muscle, skin, and the brain in both sexes even after menopause. In addition to replacing testosterone decline in women, we aim for a healthy balance of estrogen and progesterone as well. A healthy balance of all these hormones can be especially important during and after menopause, to reduce symptoms of:
• Frequent headaches
• Forgetfulness
• Memory loss
• Insomnia 
• Irritability
• Fatigue 
• Decreased sexual desire
• Hot flashes
• And more

There are multiple treatment options available to treat hormone decline safely and effectively in both men and women.