Given the amount and complexity of new information regarding androgen deficiency and its treatment, The Endocrine Society’s Clinical Practice Guidelines (1) (“the Guidelines”) are a welcome addition to the literature, representing the consensus recommendations of some of the most thoughtful “greybeards” in the field. However, the absence of large-scale clinical testosterone trials leaves room f...

STUDY QUESTION Is exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) associated with testicular function (reproductive hormone levels and semen quality) in healthy men? SUMMARY ANSWER PFOS levels were significantly negatively associated with serum testosterone (total and calculated free), but not with any other reproductive hormones or semen quality. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY In animals, some PFCs hav...

We describe a procedure based on equilibrium dialysis that allows the simultaneous determination of free testosterone and testosterone bound to non-sex-hormone-binding globulin (non-SHBG) in plasma. After saturating SHBG with 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) according to a technique recently described, the percentage of free testosterone in the treated and the untreated samples is measured by ...

In synovial cells of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), conversion products of major anti-inflammatory androgens are as yet unknown but may be proinflammatory. Therefore, therapy with androgens in RA could be a problem. This study was carried out in order to compare conversion products of androgens in RA and OA synoviocytes. In 26 OA and 24 RA patients, androgen co...

OBJECTIVE Insulin resistance is associated with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, representing a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. This relationship may be modulated to some extent by age-related changes in sex hormone status. We examined whether lower testosterone or sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels in older men are associated with insulin resistance independently of meas...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of metformin on testosterone levels in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Seventy newly diagnosed drug-naive T2DM and HbA1c >9.0% (75 mmol/mol) were treated intensive insulin pump therapy for 5 days to achieve glucose normalization. They randomized control (continued only) (plus metformin) groups (1:1) 1 month. Testos...

There are few systematic studies of the relationship between blood testosterone concentrations and the symptoms of overt androgen deficiency. Because most testosterone preparations are relatively short-term, the rapid changes in blood testosterone concentrations they cause make it difficult to define any testosterone threshold. By contrast, subdermal testosterone implants provide stable blood t...

OBJECTIVES Although there is consensus that sex hormones modulate memory, we have an incomplete understanding of their role in remembering and forgetting. Humans continuously update memory, forgetting old, out-of-date information and encoding new, more relevant information. Updating processes can be studied with the list method of directed forgetting. METHODS In the list method of directed fo...

The assessment and then treatment of a change in libido, or a change in the desire to partake in sexual activity, during the menopausal transition and beyond has been a challenging and elusive area of clinical research. This is partly due to the multidimensional nature of female sexuality, the difficulties of measuring testosterone in women in a reliable and accurate manner, and the complexity ...