A recently published article by Martin et al. [
[1]
] reports that “higher levels of endogenous testosterone, particularly in the elderly,
may have deleterious effects on cognitive functioning in men.” This is particularly
intriguing to our group and others, who have observed the opposite effect. Based on
our previous pilot work, our group is currently evaluating the effects on cerebral
glucose metabolism of testosterone replacement in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients
using PET scans. [
[2]
] In an effort to assess active changes in cerebral activity, we have designed software
to test processing speed, which is impaired in Alzheimer's disease; our earlier work
suggests improvement after testosterone replacement therapy in hypogonadal men. Other
studies have also shown an association of low testosterone and poorer cognitive functioning
[
[3]
], or improvement in cognitive function with T supplementation [
[4]
], both of which are opposite the findings of Martin's group.Keywords
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References
- Testosterone and cognitive function in ageing men: data from the Florey Adelaide Male Ageing Study (FAMAS).Maturitas. 2007; 57: 182-194
- A pilot study on the effects of testosterone in hypogonadal aging male patients with Alzheimer's disease.Aging Male. 2003; 6: 13-17
- Endogenous sex hormones and cognitive function in older men.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999; 84: 3681-3685
- Testosterone improves spatial memory in men with Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment.Neurology. 2005; 12: 2063-2068
- The heat shock-induced hyperphosphorylation of tau is estrogen-independent and prevented by androgens: implication for Alzheimer Disease.Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1997; 94: 6612-6617
- Distribution of androgen and estrogen receptor mRNA-containing cells in the rat brain: an in situ hybridization study.J Comp Neurol. 1990; 294: 76-95
- Test battery for objective assessment and differential diagnosis in the early stage of suspected development of presenile dementia of the Alzheimer type.Zeitsch Gerontol. 1993; 26: 70-80
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 04, 2007
Received:
July 27,
2007
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
