Viagra®, nicknamed the little blue pill, is a prescription to treat erectile dysfunction. It’s a well-known medication, but there are a lot of myths surrounding it. Find out what’s fact and what’s fiction.
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is an effective means of restoring testosterone levels to normal in men who are unable to maintain serum levels on their own. However, controversy surrounds TRT; the FDA has revisited the appropriateness of TRT and many private payers are putting up roadblocks to paying for it. Certainly no one would argue to refrain from replacing thyroid hormone in patients who are hypothyroid or to refrain from administering insulin in insulin dependent diabetics, so how did TRT become so controversial?
TRT, until fairly recently was limited to injection therapy. The medication has been available for decades and was relatively inexpensive and administration into the muscle was somewhat uncomfortable. This may have served to constrain testosterone usage.
The surge in popularity was accompanied by additional research questioning whether there is any increase risk of myocardial infarction or other serious thrombotic events, particularly in elderly men. Enough concern was raised that the FDA revised its guidelines for testosterone replacement. Suddenly, advertisements from attorneys recommending patients sue their physicians for giving them TRT began to outnumber advertisements by Pharma promoting use of the medications.’
Good news for TRT users: A retrospective study from Baylor colleges of Medicine in Houston by Ramasamy et al evaluated the records of 217 men aged 65 years and older. 153 were on TRT. After a mean follow up f of 3.8 years, the researchers observed no difference between the TRT and control groups in the occurrence of heart attack, coronary artery disease or pulmonary embolus. In fact the control group had a significantly higher prevalence of death from any cause when compared to the TRT group.
As time passes, the reality of the consequences of TRT, both beneficial and, harmful (if any) will manifest. Until that time, patients are best advised to perform TRT only under the direction of their physician.
You Might Also Enjoy...
Viagra®, nicknamed the little blue pill, is a prescription to treat erectile dysfunction. It’s a well-known medication, but there are a lot of myths surrounding it. Find out what’s fact and what’s fiction.
Dr. Seaman presented at the annual Translational Reproductive Biology and Clinical Reproductive Endocrinology conference on the correlation between Cap Score Utility and Varicocelectomy.
Erectile dysfunction is hard to talk about, even with your doctor. Sometimes, though, it’s due to an underlying condition that may be putting your overall health at risk. Don’t live with erectile dysfunction. Talk to your doctor today.
When male infertility is caused by an absence of sperm in your ejaculate, there are ways to retrieve them from the testes. Find out more about the different sperm extraction methods.
Prostate cancer is one of the leading cancers affecting men in the United States. There’s good news, though. New, advanced treatments can reduce the threat of prostate cancer tumors by starving them of the fuel they need to grow.
Getting a prostate cancer diagnosis is scary, especially since it’s the second leading cause of death among American men. But did you know that it doesn’t always require intervention? Read on to learn how to know when you may need treatment.