Drug Safety Developments

Testosterone therapy for low T carries risk: endocrinologists

Quoted from http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/20/us-health-testosterone-therapy-idUSBREA1J1CG20140220

Testosterone therapy for "low T" carries risk: endocrinologists

By Kathleen Raven

NEW YORK Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:09am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older men considering taking testosterone for low libido, fatigue, irritability or muscle loss should be made aware of the heart-related risks of testosterone therapy, according to a statement from the Endocrine Society.

Drug companies tout testosterone as a near panacea for such conditions. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved testosterone products only for hypogonadism, when the testicles do not produce enough testosterone.

"Testosterone isn't approved for age-related conditions and age-related decline in testosterone levels," said statement co-author Dr. Shalender Bhasin of Harvard Medical School in Boston.

[Article continues at original source]

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New Concern About Testosterone and Heart Risks

Quoted from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/study-adds-to-concern-about-cardiac-risks-for-older-men-taking-testosterone/

 

New Concern About Testosterone and Heart Risks

By ANAHAD O'CONNOR

• New York Times, January 29, 2014

A large new study found that prescription testosterone raised the risk of heart attacks in older men and in middle-aged men with a history of heart disease, prompting some experts on Wednesday to call for more extensive warning labels on the drugs.

The new study is one of several in recent years that have highlighted cardiac problems as a potential side effect of testosterone gels, patches, pellets and injections. The hormone is approved for low testosterone levels and is widely marketed for symptoms of “low T,” including fatigue, low libido and loss of energy. Sales in the last decade have soared.

By itself, the new study, which was not a randomized trial, the gold standard in medical research, “may not tell us very much,” said Dr. Michael Lauer, the director of cardiovascular sciences at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, who was not involved in the study. “But when you put this together with the rest of the medical literature, this tells us that we potentially have a problem.”

[Article continues at original source]

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