This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Andropause
For many decades until now we are discussing and almost everybody knows about menopause among women.
However, most people don’t know anything about Andropause.
We all know that menopause is a condition that each woman will sooner or later experience. A rapidly evolving process, characterized by multiple hormonal and biological changes in women, who see their lives changing so much, with monthly menstruation being disrupted, and start feeling aging on their bodies.
However, men have exactly the same hormones as women.
The fact that a cyclical or monthly event is not present in men, though, similar to the menstrual cycle in women, has turned away for many years both men and the Medical community from focusing on what happens with male hormonal system.
What is Andropause, “Male Menopause”?
What is now defined as “Andropause” or “Male Menopause” is a slowly evolving process of increasing hormonal reduction among men, which due to the absence of “male menstruation” that could facilitate men in understanding the hormonal changes taking place in their bodies, it finally leads them to search for a solution for what is happening to their bodies at a much later stage as compared to women.
Testosterone is a steroid hormone, which belongs in the group of androgens. As all other hormones, testosterone exists in women too, but in smaller quantities.
The levels of testosterone in each adult male start reducing progressively from the age of 30 onwards, as indicated by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.)
The reduction of normal levels of testosterone in men is approximately 1% to 2% per year, from the age of 25 onwards. The gradual reduction of testosterone and the progress of relevant symptoms may often go unnoticed. Nevertheless, during a tie period, at some point in the future, the significant depletion of testosterone may also manifest clinically. The condition in which this critical reduction of testosterone has occurred in men is known as Hypogonadism.
During the gradual reduction of testosterone levels, in the age of mid-40s and till the age of 50, at least 35% of men worldwide will have low testosterone levels; this causes certain symptoms and puts them at risk.
The main symptoms during Andropause may be:
Loss of libido (sexual desire),
Erectile dysfunction,
Sexual function disorders,
Irritability,
Anxiety, nervousness and irascibility,
Sleep Disorders,
insomnia, while feeling the need to sleep more,
Fatigue and muscle weakness,
Memory problems,
Melancholy and Depression,
Cyclical Emotion and moroseness,
Psychological instability and sense of insecurity
Difficulty in concentration,
Heart palpitations,
Loss of muscle tone and muscle strength,
Increase in body fat and changes in body weight,
Hair loss and wrinkles,
Skin dryness and sagging.
Andropause and Causes
In men, hormonal reduction, especially the reduction of normal testosterone levels as well as DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone), is linked to increasing age. As men get older, certain metabolic and cellular changes take place, which affect our body and hormonal processes.
These changes, taking place at the molecular level, during andropause, may manifest in the body of men, similarly to the symptoms of female menopause.
As men move towards Andropause, their ability to normally produce testosterone is reduced, and this affects their ability to enjoy life. But it is not only testosterone and DHEA that are lost, but also other hormones, such as estrogens, thyroid hormone, cortisol, and growth hormone (HGH), among others.
Furthermore, aging increases the risk of Chronic and Metabolic Diseases, such as Diabetes Mellitus, high Cholesterol, Hypertension, Insulin resistance, Metabolic Syndrome X, as well as an overall increased level of Inflammation, which ultimately leads to Chronic Inflammatory Diseases.
This particular metabolic transformation that occurs in men during Andropause and is responsible for the increased transformation of testosterone to estrogens is termed Aromatization.
The enzyme aromatase, which is found in abundance in our adipose tissue, is an important factor during aromatization of testosterone to Ε2.
This is why overweight men (excess weight) experience Andropause in a more intense way.
Because they have more increased levels of aromatase in their adipose tissue as compared to thinner men. The high concentration of aromatase leads to testosterone level reduction, converting it to Ε2 (estrogen). This increase of Ε2 levels further exacerbate symptoms during Andropause.
Treatment management of Andropause (Hypogonadism)
Following specific exams for Andropause, including the Bio 4h hormonal profile, hormonal status is detected, and special needs of each individual are identified.
The cost of the exams is affordable and the results are ready with two to three days.
Treatment of Andropause is achieved through the restoration of testosterone levels with Biomimetic testosterone, usually in the form of cream.
Biomimetic testosterone administered during Andropause is extracted from natural ingredients, which are then converted to the natural hormone of a young man.
Restoration using Biomimetic hormones is also based on the restoration of all male hormones levels, DHEA in particular.
Patients should not change their everyday life. To the contrary, they see their health improving gradually, together with their overall physical condition.
References
- Ammini A.C. et al. 2017. Andropause. In: Kumar A., Sharma M. Basics of Human Andrology.
- Samaras, N. et al. 2012. Andropause: A review of the definition and treatment. European Geriatric Medicine.
- NHS. 2019. The ‘male menopause’.
- Travison, T.G. et al. 2007. The relative contributions of aging, health, and lifestyle factors to serum testosterone decline in men. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
- Khosravi, S. et al. 2015. Are andropause symptoms related to depression? Aging and Clinical Experimental Research.
- Anaissie, J. et al. 2017. Testosterone deficiency in adults and corresponding treatment patterns across the globe. Translational Andrology and Urology.
- Anderson, J.K et al. 2002. Andropause: Knowledge and perceptions among the general public and health care professionals. The Journals of Gerontology.
- Snyder, P.J. et al. 2018. Lessons From The Testosterone Trials. Endocrine Reviews.
- Guth, M.A.S. 2016. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy for Men in the Primary Care Setting. Quality in Primary Care.
- Guth M.A. 2015. Compounded testosterone troches to optimize health and the testosterone controversy. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding.
- Tworek, D. 2019. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy for Men.
- Haring, R. et al. 2010. Prevalence, incidence and risk factors of testosterone deficiency in a population-based cohort of men: results from the study of health in Pomerania. Aging Male.
- Hisause, S. 2015. Contemporary perspective and management of testosterone deficiency: Modifiable factors and variable management. International Journal of Urology.
- Wu, F.C.W. et al. 2008. Hypothalamic-Pituitary-
Testicular Axis Disruptions in Older Men Are Differentially Linked to Age and Modifiable Risk Factors: The European Male Aging Study. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. - Hirokawa, K. et al. 2012. Job demands as a potential modifier of the association between testosterone deficiency and andropause symptoms in Japanese middle-aged workers: A cross-sectional study. Maturitas.
- Mawer, R. 2016. 8 Proven Ways to Increase Testosterone Levels Naturally.
- Harrison, J. 2011. ‘Talking about my generation’: a state-of-the-art review of health information for men in the andropause. Health Information and Libraries Journal.