Although there are many causes of low testosterone in the body, low testosterone levels can be attributed to rapid weight loss, brain surgeries, pituitary gland functioning disorders, nutritional problems, high dose of radiation( like in case of cancer treatment).
But most primarily testosterone levels drop due to aging. Aging is a normal and natural process and lowering testosterone levels due to elder age is also normal.
It is more common among women which undergo menopause (a complete stop of the menstrual cycle). However, men also undergo Andropause which lowers the testosterone amounts in the body.
Testosterone replacement therapy offers a general treatment for all these problems by increasing testosterone levels to an ideal point.
Why Does Testosterone Decrease With Age?
Testosterone level drops due to a decrease in its production. 95% of the total testosterone in the plasma is formed by the Leydig cells. As we age the number of Leydig cells also declines that leads to lower testosterone production.
The testosterone production also decreases by a decline in the enzyme activity that leads to testosterone production.
Facts
Actually, testosterone levels are maximum in the age of 18–19 years and keep declining for the rest of the life.
However, testosterone levels only decrease by 1% after the man has passed the age of 30.
The lower levels of testosterone can be diagnosed by a doctor after performing a blood test and a physical exam. There are many physical signs in the body appearance that explain lower levels of testosterone for example Presence of less hair.
Available Testosterone
Only 2 % of the total testosterone present in the body is available to be used. The other 98% is bound to SHBG and albumin.
The amount of free or available testosterone decreases at a faster pace i.e. at 2–3% because aging is also associated with SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin) increase.
Most of the symptoms of aging in males are caused by lower testosterone levels in the body.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy: A Solution
These problems can be solved by replacing the hormone levels in the body. Although it can’t turn you into a 22-year old boy still it has shown encouraging results in elder people and balanced their hormone levels.
This leads to the treatment of many symptoms of aging.
Testosterone replacement therapy is done by injecting, consuming, applying, or placing testosterone in the body.
The time period required to show results, the safety of methods, and the cost raised on testosterone replacement therapy vary with which of the above-mentioned methods you opt for. The time period and cost can also vary with the testosterone requirement of your body.
The Success Of Testosterone Therapy
In a trial, a group of 790 males all of ages 65 years were given testosterone replacement therapy by gel method and kept under examination.
All of them had testosterone levels lower than 300ng/dl. Their performance was evaluated after regular intervals.
After one month majority of the people showed a positive response in many domains i.e. sexual function, physical functions, body pains, and cardiovascular functions
Source: Nulife Institute
