1. Improvement of endothelial function following initiation of testosterone replacement therapy
- Author
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Allan S. Polackwich, Barbara Tucky, and Daniel A. Shoskes
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Urology ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Continuous variable ,Coronary artery disease ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,endothelial function ,Internal medicine ,Diabetes mellitus ,Medicine ,Testosterone ,Testosterone replacement ,030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine ,business.industry ,cardiovascular ,Mean age ,Testosterone (patch) ,medicine.disease ,Clinic visit ,Increased risk ,Endocrinology ,Reproductive Medicine ,Original Article ,business - Abstract
Background Isolated recent studies have suggested an increased risk of heart attack as early as 3 months following testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Such a rapid risk increase would likely require rapid deterioration of arterial endothelial function. Our goal was to assess arterial endothelial function in hypogonadal men prior to and at least 3 months after initiation of TRT. Methods Adult men were consented if they had symptoms of hypogonadism, a total testosterone 1.69). Prior studies suggest that a 10% level of day-to-day test variability is expected. Endothelial function was reassessed at the next clinic visit, between 3 and 6 months if the patients were compliant with therapy. Changes in continuous variables were assessed with the paired t test. Results Twenty-three patients were consented with a mean age of 52.7 years (range, 34–68 years) and starting testosterone 196.9 ng/dL (range, 35–339 ng/dL). There was a history of diabetes in four, hypertension in ten and coronary artery disease in five. Mean RHI was 1.67±0.37 (70% were abnormal) and mean AI was 2.57%±14.0% (39% were abnormal). There were no cardiac events. At follow-up 20 patients were compliant with therapy and retested. Mean testosterone increased from 203 to 511 (P
- Published
- 2016