Low testosterone (male hypogonadism) happens to be a condition in which one’s testicles do not produce enough testosterone. It has several possible causes, including conditions or even injuries affecting one’s testicles, pituitary gland, or hypothalamus. It is treatable with testosterone replacement therapy.
Low testosterone (male hypogonadism) means testicles are the gonads (sex organs) in people assigned male at birth (AMAB). More specifically, the Leydig cells in one’s testicles make testosterone.
Low testosterone does cause different symptoms at different ages. Testosterone levels in adults with AMAB naturally tend to decline as they age. This includes cisgender men, non-binary people, AMAB, and transgender women who are not undergoing feminizing hormone therapy.
Testosterone is considered to be the main androgen. It does stimulate the development of male characteristics and is also essential for sperm production (spermatogenesis). Levels of testosterone are indeed much higher in people assigned AMAB than in people assigned female at birth (AFAB).
In people assigned AMAB, testosterone does help maintain and also develop:
One’s body usually tightly controls the levels of testosterone in one’s blood. Levels are rather typically highest in the morning and also decline through the day.
Your hypothalamus and pituitary gland normally control the amount of testosterone one’s testicles produce and release.
One’s hypothalamus releases gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which triggers one’s pituitary gland to release luteinizing hormone (LH). LH then tends to travel to one’s gonads (testicles or ovaries) and thus stimulates the production as well as release of testosterone. One’s pituitary also releases follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) meant to cause sperm production.
Any issue with one’s testicles, hypothalamus, or pituitary gland can cause low testosterone (male hypogonadism).
Low blood testosterone is to be less than 300 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL) for adults.
Yet, few researchers and healthcare providers disagree with this and feel that levels below 250 ng/dL are low. Providers also consider symptoms when diagnosing low testosterone.
Healthcare providers treat low testosterone (male hypogonadism) with testosterone replacement therapy. Testosterone replacement therapy has several different forms, which include:
Testosterone skin gels: The affected person can apply the gel every day to clean, dry skin as per direction. The person mustn’t transfer the gel to another person via skin-to-skin contact. Testosterone skin gels are the most common form of treatment in the U.S.
Intramuscular testosterone injections: The person or a provider can administer the injections into a muscle every 1 to 2 weeks. Providers can administer long-acting testosterone by injection every 10 weeks. There are also subcutaneous injection options.
Testosterone patches: The person applies these patches every day to his skin as directed. He usually has to rotate their location to avoid skin reactions.
Testosterone pellets: A specialist implants these pellets under one’s skin every three to six months. The pellets do provide consistent and long-term testosterone dosages.
Buccal testosterone tablets: These are sticky pills that a person can apply to one’s gums twice a day. The testosterone absorbs quickly into the bloodstream via one’s gums.
Testosterone nasal gel: The person will apply a testosterone gel by applying it to each nostril three times a day.
Oral testosterone: A pill form of testosterone known as undecanoate is available for people with low testosterone due to specific medical conditions, like Klinefelter syndrome or tumors that have damaged their pituitary gland.
The person cannot be able to receive testosterone replacement therapy if he has a history of the following:
Prostate cancer: An unevaluated lump on one’s prostate. Every person who is considering testosterone replacement therapy needs to undergo prostate screening before starting this therapy.
What more to know about low testosterone levels in men?
Even though scientists are not 100 percent sure of what testosterone has to do with energy levels, few believe that it might have to do with testosterone’s impact on mitochondria in one’s body.
Testosterone is widely known for its “manly” effects on boosting competitiveness and desire for power, but it plays a much bigger role in the body than that.
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