Hypogonadism – this is the name of the male hormone deficiency in technical language. Specifically, it means the underactivity of the hormonal activity of the testicles. The causes can be both the testes themselves (primary hypogonadism) and disorders of the pituitary gland or higher-level brain structures (secondary hypogonadism). Common symptoms include lack of sexual desire (libido), muscle wasting, increase in body fat, depression, anemia, and bone loss (osteoporosis).
Adolescents can also be affected if they do not reach puberty at all due to lack of hormone production. This disorder, known as Kallmann syndrome, occurs rather rarely.
In so-called pubertas tarda, puberty sets in with some delay, sometimes not until the age of 20. In both cases, patients receive testosterone, which responds well and triggers puberty.
Another disorder in male hormone balance, Klinefelter syndrome, a congenital defect, is also caused by a chromosomal disorder. The genetic material of affected males has two X chromosomes instead of only one as is normal. Klinefelter syndrome occurs in about one in 500 men. Almost always, testosterone production is initially still sufficient to initiate puberty. Libido and potency are almost normal until the age of 25, but rapidly decline thereafter, and the typical sequelae of testosterone deficiency occur.
How to detect hormone deficiency
To measure the testosterone level, a simple blood test is usually enough. The normal level of testosterone in adult men has been internationally established at 12 to 35 nanomol/l (12 nanomol/l is equivalent to 3.5 nanograms/ml). Levels below 10 nanomol/l are considered abnormal and should be treated.
In addition, certain globulins (proteins) are measured that bind testosterone in the liver, rendering it biologically ineffective. Furthermore, the physician, either the urologist or the endocrinologist, also measures adrenocortical hormones, especially those called de-hydro-epi-androsterone (DHEA) and androsterone sulfate.
Finally, it is also necessary to determine the level of the so-called “prosta-specific antigen” (PSA – also a protein) and to check it at intervals. An excessive value indicates a prostate tumor. In such a case, hormone treatment is not possible because testosterones can promote the growth of existing cancer cells in the prostate.
In addition, the physician can determine the concentration of estrogens, which are produced during the conversion of testosterone. This is because a deficiency of these female hormones in men also leads to increased brittleness of the bones, to osteoporosis.
Natural testosterone against hormone deficiency.
The disturbed hormone level can be normalized again by the administration of testosterone. There are various ways to supply the missing or only in insufficient quantities produced hormone to the body. However, natural testosterone is always administered, as it is normally produced by the testes themselves. It is therefore not an “artificial hormone”.
Side effects of artificial testosterone
Bodybuilders, on the other hand, who are all about impressive muscle packs, take artificial testosterone – even if their hormone levels are fine. These anabolic steroids are usually a synthetically produced derivative of testosterone with numerous dangerous side effects:
- Acne (mostly on the back),
- Shortness of breath, increased sweat production, constant hunger,
- Listlessness, high blood pressure, increased eye pressure,
- Blood value changes, depression, violent outbursts,
- Female breast formation in men, hair loss, heart growth,
- Headaches, fatigue, mood swings or.
- Infertility (testicular atrophy), water retention.
