[MUSIC] We're supposed to
have testosterone and we're supposed to have
a certain amount at certain times in our life.
Do we know how that changes over time?
Yes, we actually do know how it changes over time.
As I mentioned earlier in utero,
there is a surge of testosterone
for the fetal development,
for the baby to grow up,
when you're born to be a boy.
There is a surge which is mediated through
the mom's hormones, specifically HCG.
During puberty there's also another surge of testosterone
for a man to start developing
their secondary sexual characteristics,
deepening their voice, increase muscle strength.
How long does that last? If we have a surge,
is it a surge for a week
and then it kicks off all these changes,
or does it go up and stay up for a long time?
It goes up and actually stay up for
a couple of years until puberty finishes.
There is a surge at that time as well.
But then for the most part,
during the immense,
the end of puberty, that surge actually,
the level stays pretty steady throughout most
of the guys during their 20s and
30s and then as a man age,
just like woman's hormone goes down with aging,
a man's hormone also goes down with aging,
so we call them andropause,
then that's one of the words you might
hear on commercials as
the testosterone are going to down as the menopause for
women we call andropause for men.
The other word I heard was men-o-pause. [LAUGHTER].
Sure.
Instead of menopause.
Exactly.
That change takes place.
Is that responsible for aging?
Is it a consequence of aging?
Is it a problem or is it normal?
Yeah. It's definitely a normal physiologic response
for man's to start from level to go down with aging.
Back in the day before we recognize this phenomenon,
we just assume that, okay, well,
when you become middle age, 50,
60 it's normal for you to get more tired,
is normal for you can't keep your eyes
open during the shows after dinner,
normal to gain some weight,
it's normal to have
issues relating to erections and sex drive.
But then we just associate that with just part of aging.
That's what my grandfather looked like.
That's what I'm going to look like when I'm 60 and 70,
I'm not going to be as active.
We now know that a lot of that can be,
can contributed to low testosterone.
Testosterone is just like any hormone balance,
if you have diabetes or thyroid problems your
body's not healthy when you're
running a deficit in certain hormones.
By restoring the balance,
your body functions better.
This is very true for men who are overweight.
They try all types of diet programs.
They eat salad till the cows come home,
they exercise with a trainer
and then they don't get any results,
and then they ended up very
discouraged and give up on their lifestyle changes.
It's part of these groups of men,
part of the problem is a hormone
deficiency because if you
have imbalanced hormone it's
harder for them to lose weight.
It's harder for them to get motivated
and get the energy they need to go work out.
Studies have shown that by restoring
their balance in combination with lifestyle changes,
they are positive body
composition changes associated with it.
I think men were demanding a little
more these days just because we are 60,
we don't want to feel like 60 and by no means is
testosterone a way of anti-aging
to make a 60-year-old man, 20-year-old again.
But if you can give them
maybe five years or 10 years
and get their body back a little bit more,
stay active a little longer,
and I think that's
something that's very positive with the patient.