What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy for Men? | eHow

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James Rutter

Since 2005, James Rutter has worked as a freelance journalist for print and Internet publications, including the News of Delaware County, Main Line Times and Broad Street Review. As a former chemist, college professor and competitive weightlifter, he writes about science, education and exercise. Rutter earned a B.A. in philosophy and biology from Albright College and studied philosophy and cognitive science at Temple University.

Hormone replacement therapy is a medical treatment used to alleviate the effects of low testosterone in men. Patients who need it experience a range of symptoms or might suffer from injury or disease causing low natural testosterone. After checking testosterone levels and ruling out other conditions, doctors can prescribe a variety of forms of testosterone. Patients who suffer from certain conditions should avoid therapy as it results in a number of side effects.

Hormone replacement therapy is a medical treatment regimen used to alleviate the effects of low testosterone production in men as they age. In human males, the production of testosterone peaks between the ages of 18 to 25 and begins to decline after age 25 at a rate of about two percent per year. This can cause a number of symptoms including a decrease in muscle mass and bone density, loss of energy, decreased libido, and a decline in overall mental health and well-being.

To lessen or reverse these conditions and enhance quality of life, doctors have prescribed testosterone to supplement or replace the body's natural production of testosterone.

Some of the symptoms associated with testosterone deficiency include lower libido, difficulty concentrating or remembering, depression, thinning skin, erectile dysfunction, tiredness, and a loss of muscle and increase in body fat. Other changes can include changes in how the body processes cholesterol, lowered red blood cell count (mild anemia) and osteoporosis.

Men over 30 who notice any of the above symptoms can consult their doctor about receiving testosterone replacement therapy. Additional causes of testosterone deficiency include testicular injury or infection, chemotherapy, pituitary or hypothalamic injury or trauma, congenital conditions that cause hypogonadism (low sperm count), kidney failure, sarcoidosis (a disease that inflames the lung and organ tissue), and cirrhosis of the liver.

Doctors prescribe hormone replacement therapy after a medical exam, taking a full medical and medication history, and testing blood-serum levels of testosterone. If the testosterone level is low and coincides with reduced libido, the doctor will also measure serum prolactin and levels of luteinizing hormone (to check for pituitary dysfunction). Hormone therapy is indicated when serum testosterone is low and luteinizing hormone (a precursor to testosterone production) is high.

A doctor might also ask questions about ability to maintain erections, frequency of erections (including nocturnal erections), and frequency of sexual activity and urges to have sexual activity.

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What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy for Men? | eHow