Researchers from Monash University in Australia say that giving testosterone treatments to postmenopausal women can improve their verbal learning and memory. While menopause is linked with memory decline due to decreased production of the female sex hormone estrogen, this study found that giving older women treatments of the male sex hormone can help protect them against cognitive decline that often accompanies menopause. Testosterone can also help give women a boost in sexual desire, bone density and energy while improving mood.

By Serena Gordon Health Day Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) — If you’re a man, the pain-killing medications known as opioids may do more than relieve pain — they may also put a damper on your sex life.

A new study found that men who were prescribed medications for erectile dysfunction or low testosterone levels were more likely to be taking opioid (narcotic) medications for chronic back pain.

“People who have persistent pain problems need to know that a potential side effect of long-term opioid use may be erectile dysfunction,” said lead study author Dr. Richard Deyo, a clinical investigator for the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. “This is not a well-known potential side effect among patients, and it should be considered when thinking about treatment.” Deyo also noted, however, that “the nature of this study as an observational study limits our ability to make a causal [cause-and-effect] inference. Opioid use and erectile dysfunction seem to go together, but we have to be cautious about saying one causes the other.”

Las Vegas, NV — (SBWIRE) — 07/18/2012 — A new study, which combines four clinical trials, provides hope for heart failure patients in the form of treatment with testosterone.

The four trials, while small, showed a moderate improvement in patients with chronic stable heart failure, with some subjects experiencing a 50 percent enhancement in their capacity to walk, which is linked to the testosterone’s ability to help improve exercise endurance and the shortness of breath associated with heart failure patients.

The lead study author, Dr. Justin Z. Ezekowitz, cautioned that because of the small number of subjects – just 198 across the four trials – there was much more work to be done to determine the efficacy of testosterone across a broad spectrum of patients. Ezekowitz, who is the Heart Function Clinic director at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, further clarified that just because of the positive outlook from this study “We don’t want patients and their loved ones rushing to physicians to misinterpret the findings.”

Hormone affects fat accumulation in lower body by changing cell function, Concordia Study Proves

Not all fat is created equal. Compared to people who accumulate fat in the hips and thighs, people who store fat in their stomachs run a much higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other obesity-associated health issues.

“The substantial weight loss found in our study—an average of 36 pounds—was a surprise,” said the study’s lead author, Farid Saad, PhD, of Berlin-headquartered Bayer Pharma.

Although prior studies using testosterone therapy in testosterone-deficient men consistently show changes in body composition, such as increased lean mass and decreased fat mass, Saad said the net effect on weight seemed unchanged in those studies. However, Saad said their study, which took place in Germany, had a longer follow-up by at least two years and used long-acting injections of testosterone.

“Declining testosterone levels are not an inevitable part of the aging process, as many people think,” said study co-author Gary Wittert, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, Australia. “Testosterone changes are largely explained by smoking behavior and changes in health status, particularly obesity and depression.”

Testosterone has had a disreputable reputation in the past and has been associated with body builders’ muscles, but now it is
associated with beating diabetes.

Like many Type 2 diabetics, when he was first diagnosed Charles Lawson was overweight – and despondent.
‘I’d just lost my oomph,’ recalls the 68-year-old teacher. ‘The nurse at my GP practice suggested diet and exercise, but my waistline just kept expanding. I was falling asleep all the time and I’d even stopped gardening, which I love.’

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Higher naturally occurring levels of the male hormone testosterone appear to protect men from fatal heart attacks or strokes and death from all manner of causes, researchers in Britain said on Monday.

But the researchers cautioned men not to begin testosterone supplementation based on the results of this 10-year study, saying the benefits and risks are unclear.

Study shows hormone replacement may cut dementia risk

Sharon Kirkey , CanWest News Service

Testosterone patches can not only boost potency and sex drive, they may protect the male brain from Alzheimer’s disease.

A new study shows testosterone therapy reduces levels of a sticky protein that causes plaque buildup in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

So far, the work has been done only in mice. But University of Southern California researchers believe “that we are on to something” and that testosterone replacement therapy might one day treat or prevent Alzheimer’s in aging men.

NEW YORK, Apr 12 (Reuters Health) – Testosterone injections appear to improve blood flow to the heart during exercise in

Contrary to Belief, Testosterone Doesn’t Raise Risk of Prostate Cancer, Study Shows

One of doctors’ greatest fears about testosterone therapy