Background:
In men with low levels of testosterone in the blood, it is believed that the symptoms can be regarded as an association between testosterone deficiency syndrome and related comorbidities.
Aim:
to investigate the effectiveness of testosterone therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and androgen deficiency.
Materials and methods:
Testosterone replacement therapy was carried out in 26 men with T2D and clinically or laboratory-confirmed androgen deficiency. The age of the subjects ranged from 35 to 69 years old. Laboratory studies included determinations of the concentration of the hormones estradiol, luteinizing hormone (LH), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The observation period was 9 months.
Results:
The average level of total blood testosterone in the subjects before treatment was 9.4 mol/l and was likely lower than that of the control group (19.3 ± 1.6 nmol/l). The levels of total testosterone in the subjects ranged from 3.9 nmol/l to 10.7 nmol/l, and hormone levels measuring less than 8.0 nmol/l were observed in only 11 patients. After a course of testosterone replacement therapy, a stabilization in total testosterone levels at the level of reference values (as compared to the start of treatment) was observed in the blood of men with T2D after 9 months of observation and the administration of the fourth injection (16.83 ± 0.75 nmol/l).
Conclusion:
The use of long-acting injectable testosterone undecanoate leads to normalization of total testosterone levels in the blood of men with T2D and androgen deficiency, and LH levels in these patients are unlikely to change.
Why Is Androgen Replacement in Males Controversial?