Hormonal failure in men - symptoms and treatment

For a long time, the problems of hormonal malfunction were discussed in connection with changes in women's health, and rarely concerned men's problems. Recently, the issues of hormonal activity of the male body are increasingly being discussed both in the professional environment of doctors and in the media. The full activity of the hormonal function is directly related to longevity, prevention of cardiovascular, nervous, bone, genitourinary systems in men. After the end of puberty( 17-20 years), the hormonal background of a man stabilizes, and, starting from 30 years, the level of the main sex hormone of men - testosterone, begins to decline annually by 1-1,5%.

Given that at the end of the puberty period, the baseline testosterone level in young men differs( because it is related to the characteristics of the type of sexual constitution, general health, concomitant diseases), in some men the onset of androgen deficiency occurs faster than in others.

Symptoms of hormonal failure

The most common symptoms of lowering testosterone levels can be:

• increased fatigue;
• irritability, malaise, decreased physical endurance( associated with a decrease in the production of red blood cells transporting oxygen to the cells of the body);
• appearance of excess weight( especially in the abdomen - abdominal obesity);
• reduction in muscle mass;
• dryness and flabbiness of the skin;
• thinning and brittle hair;
• occurrence of cardiovascular diseases;
• development of diabetes mellitus;
• osteoporosis( decrease in bone density, and as a consequence their increased fragility);
• a violation of the sexual system( prostate adenoma, sexual disorders).

Possible causes of hormonal malfunction

When mentioning the causes of hormonal failure, hormonal disorders of a young age and an androgen deficiency of older men are usually identified.

The causes of testosterone deficiency at a young age are usually associated with:

• congenital or acquired pathology of central and peripheral endocrine glands( testicles, pituitary gland, thyroid, adrenal glands);
• toxic effects( alcohol abuse, smoking, drug use, occupational hazards, household chemicals);
• infectious processes, tumors, traumas of the sexual glands.

In addition, the condition of the liver, kidneys, on which the exchange of sex hormones and their removal from the body is important. Recently, research data on the influence of external factors on the state of sex hormones in men have appeared more often. It became known that many household chemical products( washing powders, shampoos, crockery, furniture, etc.) that we use negatively affect the production of testosterone. Food and packaging for their storage also contain a lot of harmful substances, inhibiting and depressing the work of the sex glands. Particular attention should be given to such a product as beer. Contained in it, phytoestrogens( analogues of female sex hormones) lead to a fairly rapid inhibition of testosterone production and an increase in female sex hormones. Also known data on the negative impact on testosterone levels of chronic lack of sleep, stress, overwork.

Androgen deficiency in older men is usually associated with a decrease in the production of androgens due to aging( decrease in function) of cells of the gonads. In this case, there is a redistribution of the concentration of sex hormones, with an increase in the proportion of female sex hormones. Obesity resulting from testosterone deficiency leads to an increased synthesis of the hormone leptin, which is produced in fatty tissue, which in turn even more depresses the production of testosterone.

Diagnostics

To diagnose hormonal failure in men, the status of various organs and systems is assessed:

1. Mental activity( ability to concentrate, memory, emotional background).
2. Cardiovascular system( definition of lipid profile, ultrasound of vessels, ECG).Endocrine function( blood sugar test, total testosterone level, LH, GSH, TSH, prolactin, estradiol, if necessary X-ray of the skull, CT, ultrasound of the adrenal glands, prostate, thyroid, kidney, liver).
3. of the musculoskeletal system( roentgenogram of bones, spine, CT).

Treatment of hormonal malfunction

The tactics for treating the deficiency of sex hormones in men will depend on the age, the causes that caused this deficit, the presence of concomitant diseases, and is selected in each case individually.

At a young age, testosterone deficiency can be compensated by stimulating therapy aimed at activating the gonads( use of chorionic gonadotropin), improving the activity of organs in which sex hormones are exchanged( liver, prostate gland), and include preparations of plant, synthetic origin, vitamins. In other cases, the treatment is aimed at normalizing the activity of other endocrine glands( pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands).But there are certain genetic diseases that already from a young age require the use of hormone replacement therapy with testosterone preparations for life( see hormonal drugs for men).

Androgen deficiency in old age requires, as a rule, lifelong prescription of testosterone preparations. But this need not be frightened, since the benefits of using hormonal drugs to maintain the necessary concentration of testosterone in the body of a man are obvious, in comparison with its deficiency.

After achieving the required concentration of testosterone, the activity is improved:

• of the cardiovascular system( hypertension, which is hard to treat, starts to recede, the risk of heart attacks, strokes decreases);
• endocrine system( milder diabetes mellitus, the risk of complications decreases, obesity goes away);
• of the musculoskeletal system( muscle tone improves, the bones become dense, calcium stops washing away);
• of cognitive function( memory, attention), improvement of general well-being, tone, increase of working capacity and mood.

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