The ZRT Laboratory Blog

Low testosterone in older men, often referred to as “male menopause” or even “andropause” is fairly well known — and testosterone replacement therapy in this age group has not been without its share of controversy [...] But what about the alarming suggestion that low testosterone is now becoming more prevalent in younger men? An article published last year has brought some attention to a link between poor health and low testosterone levels in younger men.…

Tags: Testosterone, Andropause, Obesity, SHBG

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Testosterone replacement therapy has the potential to drastically improve quality of life of those who need it. However, many men who begin topical testosterone are given too much of the hormone. Explanations for this erroneous tendency are rooted in incorrect dosing principles that have been established on false assumptions, misconceptions, invalid conclusions and aggressive marketing instead of…

Tags: Testosterone, Dosing, BHRT, Andropause

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Getting an early jump on a disease process like cancer makes treatment exponentially easier and outcomes generally better. Under the current guidelines, that early jump on prostate cancer starts at age 55 for men at low to moderate risk and 40-45 for men at high risk. It takes years for cancer to grow to a detectable point after the tumor's initial induction from a normal cell to a cancerous one.…

Tags: Estrogen Metabolism, BPA, Cancer, Arsenic, Andropause

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The first thing a man entering andropause generally notices is a subtle downward shift in strength and energy as hormone levels taper off. Muscle tone and stamina are the first to go and he starts to gain weight and that "spare tire." He may also develop a voracious appetite and food cravings he never had before. As symptoms kick in at mid-life, hormone testing can identify hidden imbalances that…

Tags: Hormone Balance, Andropause, Patient Education

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SHBG, or Sex Hormone Binding Globulin, controls testosterone effect in both men and women by modulating changes in sex steroid levels. When SHBG goes up, free testosterone goes down. I like to think of SHBG as a sponge that soaks up androgens and to some degree estrogens as well. Since it binds so specifically and tightly to testosterone, it makes up part of the equation that equals androgen excess…

Tags: Hormone Balance, Testosterone, Andropause, SHBG

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Men and testosterone therapy have been a hot topic in the news recently. Stories are filled with cautions about the use of testosterone therapy in men causing heart attacks and leading many doctors to question testosterone supplementation. A closer look at the study may provide more insight. The study released is referenced at the end of this post. This study looked at 55,593 men who started…

Tags: Heart Health, Testosterone, Hormone Balance, Cardiovascular Disease, Andropause

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Do you regularly see 40-something female patients who cannot budge the belly fat no matter how hard they try? Or 50-something mid-lifers who say they never had a weight problem until they hit menopause or andropause? If you haven’t considered testing their hormones yet, this should pique your interest. There’s a hormone connection to “unexplained weight gain” (ICD-9 783.1), and it could be the…

Tags: Weight Management, Hormone Balance, Menopause, Andropause, Estrogen Dominance, Vitamin D

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