Hormone Therapy Could Help Men, Too

BALTIMORE -- Menopausal women aren't the only ones who suffer the effects of waning hormones and a diminished sex drive. Men often complain of the same problems.

Do men go through menopause? WBAL-TV in Baltimore reports that the medical community is currently debating that issue. What they do not argue is that men at any age can suffer hormonal imbalances that reduce sex drive and produce a variety of other problems.

At 20, most men feel they are just getting started with life. Few realize they are gradually losing testosterone -- the male hormone that makes a man a man.

Johns Hopkins endocrinologist Dr. Adrian Dobs says a man doesn't have menopause, but "what does happen to men is that a percentage -- 24 percent -- who have a serious decline in serum testosterone levels as they get older."

But it can happen to men of any age.

Low testosterone signals a medical condition called hypogonadism. Some symptoms are similar to those women have during menopause: hot flashes, fatigue, weakness, depression, erectile dysfunction, loss of muscle tone and osteoporosis, which leads to bone fractures.

For Day Werts, it was something more worrisome. "The problem was a complete lack of sexual interest in sexual activity," he said. "And it bothered my wife more than me."

Day blamed his lack of interest on long work hours and fatigue. But his wife's concern sent him to Dr. Murray Gordon, who ran a battery of tests.

"My testosterone levels were way low," Werts said.

The levels were so low it was clear he had hypogonadism. What are the possible causes?

"There is a problem with the testes themselves -- been destroyed, medication, born with it -- or a problem with the pituitary gland, it sits here in the base of the brain," Gordon said.

The pituitary is the so-called master gland that controls all the hormonal activity in the body, including testosterone. When there is a problem with the pituitary, you have a problem with many things.

As it turns out, a magnetic resonance imaging test revealed part of Wert's pituitary gland is missing. "Apparently it's not an uncommon finding," he said.

In his case, it just happened. But a severe blow to the head, stress, or alcohol can do it, too. Day's doctor treated him with hormone replacement therapy.

"You can improve bone density by treating men with low testosterone, you can improve libido, you can improve sexual functioning, you can improve hot flashes, you can improve levels of energy," Gordon said.

Testosterone replacement comes in a shot or gel. Day prefers the gel for convenience. It could take some time before he gets his libido back, but he's hoping his symptoms soon become a thing of the past.

But hormone replacement therapy for men can be as troublesome as it is for women. It can cause prostate levels to rise and even worsen prostate cancer, the television station reported.

The risks mean routine monitoring, but for men who don't like the idea of having menopause, it's the only way to go.