[OA] The Rise and Fall of Estrogen Therapy: Is Testosterone for “Manopause” Next?
Deaths caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD) have declined more than 40% since 2000. This reduction has been attributed to primary prevention efforts (hyperlipidemia therapy, blood pressure control, and aspirin use) and to improved treatment of patients with established disease. Age is the chief risk factor for the development of CVD.
Aging is associated with many physiologic changes, including reduced levels of estrogen in women and testosterone in men. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved estrogen decades ago as short-term therapy for women in the perimenopausal period, and, later, testosterone was approved for a small, select group of men with premature gonadal failure. Prescriptions for both hormones were few until marketing campaigns established aging as a target for treatment.
After the effects of estrogen-replacement therapy on postmenopausal women were studied and reported, the number of clinical prescriptions declined precipitously. This might herald a warning for men who pursue testosterone therapy to treat their age-related low testosterone levels (widely called “low T”).
Costello BT, Sprung K, Coulter SA. The Rise and Fall of Estrogen Therapy: Is Testosterone for “Manopause” Next?. Texas Heart Institute Journal. 2017;44(5):338-40. http://thij.org/doi/10.14503/THIJ-17-6360?code=txhi-site
Deaths caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD) have declined more than 40% since 2000. This reduction has been attributed to primary prevention efforts (hyperlipidemia therapy, blood pressure control, and aspirin use) and to improved treatment of patients with established disease. Age is the chief risk factor for the development of CVD.
Aging is associated with many physiologic changes, including reduced levels of estrogen in women and testosterone in men. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved estrogen decades ago as short-term therapy for women in the perimenopausal period, and, later, testosterone was approved for a small, select group of men with premature gonadal failure. Prescriptions for both hormones were few until marketing campaigns established aging as a target for treatment.
After the effects of estrogen-replacement therapy on postmenopausal women were studied and reported, the number of clinical prescriptions declined precipitously. This might herald a warning for men who pursue testosterone therapy to treat their age-related low testosterone levels (widely called “low T”).
Costello BT, Sprung K, Coulter SA. The Rise and Fall of Estrogen Therapy: Is Testosterone for “Manopause” Next?. Texas Heart Institute Journal. 2017;44(5):338-40. http://thij.org/doi/10.14503/THIJ-17-6360?code=txhi-site
