Testosterone replacement therapy may help improve urinary, sexual functions: Study

New York: A new study has revealed that long-term testosterone replacement therapy may help improve both sexual and urinary functions as well as quality of life for men suffering from a condition due to deficiency of the hormone.

Testosterone is a steroid hormone involved in the regulation of sexual function, urinary health and metabolism as well as a number of other critical functions. 

Testosterone concentration declines slowly with age in most men, but may not cause immediate major symptoms.

However, some men may experience a host of signs and symptoms constituting a clinical condition called Testosterone Deficiency (TD), or male hypogonadism, which is attributed to insufficient levels of testosterone. 

As a result, they experience symptoms as varied as erectile dysfunction, low energy, fatigue, depressed mood and an increased risk of diabetes.

The study investigated the effects of long-term testosterone replacement therapy on urinary health and sexual function as well as quality of life in men with diagnosed, symptomatic testosterone deficiency. 

More than 650 men in their 50s and 60s enrolled in the study, some with unexplained testosterone deficiency and others with known genetic and auto-immune causes for their hypogonadism.

Abdulmaged Traish, Professor of Urology at Boston University School of Medicine in the US said,"It is thought that testosterone treatment in men may increase prostate size and worsen lower urinary tract symptoms." 

However, the researchers discovered that despite increased prostate size in the group that received testosterone therapy, there were fewer urinary symptoms such as frequent urination, incomplete bladder emptying, weak urinary stream and waking up at night to urinate.

In addition to these subjective improvements, the researchers conducted objective testing that showed that those men treated with testosterone emptied their bladders more fully.

Finally, testosterone treatment also increased the scores patients received on assessments of their erectile/sexual health and general quality of life, the study said.

The findings was published in the Journal of Urology.

(With IANS inputs)