Testosterone Supplements - No Help!

There has been much publicity about low testosterone, mostly from the drug companies producing the supplement. But even in patients with low testosterone (now referred to as "low-T'), does supplementation actually do anything?

In an industry-supported (!) randomized trial, 306 men (age, ≥60) with morning total testosterone levels of 100 to 400 ng/dL or free testosterone levels <50 pg/mL received either testosterone gel or placebo gel daily for 3 years. Doses in the active-treatment group were adjusted to achieve total testosterone levels >500 ng/dL.

They found no differences in erectile function, a total sexual-function score, and a health-related quality-of-life score between the two groups.

Essentially, unless your testosterone level is very very low (less than 100; normal levels are often quoted at about 220) there does not appear to be any advantage of using testosterone gel.

Allan S. Brett, MD Reviewing Basaria S et al., JAMA 2015 Aug 11; 314:570