The search for alternatives to steroid medications for treating millions of Baby Boomer males with age-related declines in the sex hormone testosterone has led researchers in California to report development of a nonsteroidal compound that shows promise as a new treatment for loss of muscle mass, bone tissue, and other problems linked to low testosterone. Their study will appear in the Oct. 18 issue of the ACS’
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
In the report, Arjan van Oeveren and colleagues point out that the potential side effects of testosterone, a steroid medication, limit its use to older men with low testosterone levels. Testosterone replacement therapy may increase the risk of prostate cancer and stroke, for instance, and cannot be given orally. People take it via skin patches or rub-on gels.
The new study describes a nonsteroidal compound that in lab rats attaches to testosterone receptors in cells and triggers the same desired effects as actual testosterone in tests in laboratory animals. In comparison to other testosterone replacement treatments, the compound showed similar improvement in muscle mass and strength while having little effect on the prostate, the researchers say. It also significantly improved bone density and strength in the lab rats.
Source: ACS
Related stories:
Exposure to dioxins influences male reproductive system
A dioxin toxin contained in the herbicide Agent Orange affects male reproductive health by limiting the growth of the prostate gland and lowering testosterone levels, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a cohort study of more than 2,000 Air Force veterans who served during the Vietnam War.
Orange, grapefruit juice for breakfast builds bones in rats
It may sound like Saturday cartoons: a strong-boned rat that can't be broken. But a couple of Texas researchers say the real hero is citrus juice.
Baby's smell tamps down dad's testosterone levels
Does eau de infant make dad a better parent? It does, it seems, if you are a common marmoset, a New World monkey known for its collaborative approach to rearing offspring.
Young type-2 diabetic men suffer low testosterone levels, study shows
Young men with type 2 diabetes have significantly low levels of testosterone, endocrinologists at the University at Buffalo have found -- a condition that could have a critical effect on their quality of life and on their ability to father children.
Testosterone and body fat are controlled by the same genes
Genes that control percentage of body fat are also responsible for circulating levels of testosterone in men, research published in the latest edition of Clinical Endocrinology shows. The research shows a 23% overlap between the genes that control testosterone and those that regulate body fat composition, suggesting that these two variables are partly controlled by the same set of genes.
How advanced prostate cancer becomes resistant to androgen-deprivation therapy
For the past 70 years the treatment of choice for advanced, metastatic prostate cancer has been androgen-deprivation therapy. That is, the suppression of circulating testosterone – the hormone that fuels prostate-cancer growth – via surgical castration (orchiectomy) or medical castration with testosterone-blocking drugs. While such therapy buys time for patients, it is not a cure, as inevitably the cancer becomes resistant to the androgen deprivation and continues to grow.
Low testosterone levels associated with risk of fracture in men over 60
Men over age 60 who have low blood testosterone levels may be at a higher risk for fractures, according to a report in the January 14 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Just 4 months of hormone therapy can delay prostate cancer growth by up to 8 years
Early, short course of hormonal therapy may allow patients to live longer
Alexandria, VA—Researchers report that just four months of hormonal therapy before and with standard external beam radiation therapy slowed cancer growth by as much as eight years—especially the development of bone metastases—and increased survival in older men with potentially aggressive prostate cancer. This “neoadjuvant” hormonal therapy may allow men most at risk of developing bone metastases avoid long-term hormonal therapy later on. Furthermore, the short-term hormonal therapy did not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease—a potential side effect of long-term hormonal therapy. The study is being published online January 2 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO).
