Studies demonstrate a decline in androgens with age and this results in the andropause. The objective of this paperis to review the literature on hormonal changes that occur in the aging males and determine if there a...Studies demonstrate a decline in androgens with age and this results in the andropause. The objective of this paperis to review the literature on hormonal changes that occur in the aging males and determine if there are associations be-tween decreased testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and decreased cognitive function. Trials of androgen re-placement and its impact on cognitive function will also be analyzed. Method of analysis will be by a thorough searchof articles on MEDLINE, the Internet and major abstract databases. Results of the author's own research in 302 men ofthe association of memory loss as a symptom in the andropause will be presented. In addition, the authors open trial oftestosterone replacement in hypogonadic men with Alzheimer's disease will also be presented. The results of the author'strial will be compared with other investigators. High endogenous testosterone level predicted better performance on visu-al spatial tests in several studies, but not in all studies. Likewise, testosterone replacement in hypogonadic patients im-proved cognitive functions in some but not all studies. Testosterone has also been shown to improve cognitive functionin eugonadal men. Several studies have shown that declines in DHEA may contribute to Alzheimer's disease and the re-sults of double blind studies with DHEA replacement and its effect on cognition will also be presented. In summary,there is still no consensus that androgen replacement is beneficial in cognitive decline but this option may prove promis-ing in some patients. (Asian J Androl 2001 Sep; 3: 169-174)展开更多
文摘Studies demonstrate a decline in androgens with age and this results in the andropause. The objective of this paperis to review the literature on hormonal changes that occur in the aging males and determine if there are associations be-tween decreased testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and decreased cognitive function. Trials of androgen re-placement and its impact on cognitive function will also be analyzed. Method of analysis will be by a thorough searchof articles on MEDLINE, the Internet and major abstract databases. Results of the author's own research in 302 men ofthe association of memory loss as a symptom in the andropause will be presented. In addition, the authors open trial oftestosterone replacement in hypogonadic men with Alzheimer's disease will also be presented. The results of the author'strial will be compared with other investigators. High endogenous testosterone level predicted better performance on visu-al spatial tests in several studies, but not in all studies. Likewise, testosterone replacement in hypogonadic patients im-proved cognitive functions in some but not all studies. Testosterone has also been shown to improve cognitive functionin eugonadal men. Several studies have shown that declines in DHEA may contribute to Alzheimer's disease and the re-sults of double blind studies with DHEA replacement and its effect on cognition will also be presented. In summary,there is still no consensus that androgen replacement is beneficial in cognitive decline but this option may prove promis-ing in some patients. (Asian J Androl 2001 Sep; 3: 169-174)
