ENDO: Testosterone Benefits Androgen-Deficient Women

Researchers see improvements in mood, sexual function and quality of life

TUESDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- In women with severe androgen deficiency due to hypopituitarism, administration of low-dose testosterone improves mood, sexual function and quality of life, but not cognitive function, according to research presented this week at ENDO 2006, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, in Boston.

Karen K. Miller, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues studied 51 women with low levels of free testosterone, 55 percent of whom had undetectable levels. During the 12-month study, the women were randomly assigned to receive a patch containing either 300 micrograms of testosterone, or a placebo.

Compared to the placebo group, the testosterone group experienced improvements in mood, overall sexual function and quality of life on the following scales: PGWB Self-Control, RAND Energy/Fatigue, RAND General Health and NHP Sleep. They also found that the testosterone group experienced improved spatial function as measured by the WASI block design test, but not as measured by the Vanderberg and Kuse Mental Rotations Test, nor other measures of cognitive function.

"This is the first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to show a positive effect of physiologic testosterone replacement on neurobehavioral function in women with severe androgen deficiency due to hypopituitarism," the authors conclude.

Abstract

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