Testosterone supplementation did not show consistent benefit for cardiovascular risk , sexual function , mood and behavior , or cognition .
Studies that examined clinical cardiovascular endpoints have not favored testosterone therapy over placebo .
Testosterone is ineffective in treating erectile dysfunction and controlled trials did not show a consistent effect on libido .
Testosterone supplementation consistently increased muscle strength but did not have beneficial effects on physical function .
Most studies on mood-related endpoints found no beneficial effect of testosterone treatment on personality , psychological well-being , or mood .
Testosterone products are recommended by some prescribers in response to a diagnosis or presumption of " low testosterone " ( low-T ) for cardiovascular health , sexual function , muscle weakness or wasting , mood and behavior , and cognition .
Randomized study of testosterone gel as adjunctive therapy to sildenafil in hypogonadal men with erectile dysfunction who do not respond to sildenafil alone.
PURPOSE We compare the efficacy of testosterone gel ( T-gel ) versus placebo as adjunctive therapy to sildenafil in hypogonadal men with erectile dysfunction who do not respond to sildenafil alone . MATERIAL S AND METHODS A r and omized , placebo controlled , double-blind , parallel group , multicenter study was performed . A total of 75 hypogonadal men ( 18 to 80 years old , morning serum total testosterone 400 ng/dl or less ) with confirmed lack of response to sildenafil monotherapy were r and omized ( 1:1 ) to receive a daily dose of 1 % T-gel or 5 gm placebo gel as adjunctive therapy to 100 mg sildenafil during a 12-week period . Subjects were evaluated for sexual function , primarily based on the International Index of Erectile Function ( IIEF ) , quality of life and serum testosterone levels at baseline and weeks 4 , 8 and 12 . RESULTS Testosterone treated subjects had greater improvement in erectile function compared to those who received placebo , reaching statistical significance at week 4 ( 4.4 vs 2.1 , p = 0.029 , 95.1 % CI 0.3 , 4.7 ) . Similar trends were observed for improvements in orgasmic function , overall satisfaction , total IIEF score and percentage of IIEF responders . T-gel significantly ( p < or = 0.004 ) increased total and free testosterone levels throughout the study , although no significant correlations were made between testosterone levels and the IIEF at end point . CONCLUSIONS T-gel taken with sildenafil may be beneficial in improving erectile function in hypogonadal men with erectile dysfunction who are unresponsive to sildenafil alone
Testosterone supplementation did not show consistent benefit for cardiovascular risk , sexual function , mood and behavior , or cognition .
Studies that examined clinical cardiovascular endpoints have not favored testosterone therapy over placebo .
Testosterone is ineffective in treating erectile dysfunction and controlled trials did not show a consistent effect on libido .
Testosterone supplementation consistently increased muscle strength but did not have beneficial effects on physical function .
Most studies on mood-related endpoints found no beneficial effect of testosterone treatment on personality , psychological well-being , or mood .
Testosterone products are recommended by some prescribers in response to a diagnosis or presumption of " low testosterone " ( low-T ) for cardiovascular health , sexual function , muscle weakness or wasting , mood and behavior , and cognition .