UF researchers have participated in a National Institute on Aging study that discovered testosterone treatments can improve anemia in older men.
The research, which lasted about five years and included 790 men over 65 years old, addressed testosterone treatment’s effects, said Dr. Marco Pahor, the director of UF’s Institute on Aging. In February 2016, he co-authored a published paper that showed testosterone has positive effects on sexual and physical functions.
The new results, published in February, were from the same study but focused on other aspects of treatment: cardiovascular outcomes, bone density, anemia and cognition, said Dr. Sergei Romashkan, the national institute’s chief of the Clinical Trials Branch.
Out of the 790 men, 64 had anemia, or a lack of healthy red blood cells. The treatment improved hemoglobin levels in a portion of them, according to a national institute press release.
This was the largest study ever conducted on older men with low testosterone levels, Pahor said.
“There are several benefits and potential questions that are raised by these studies, and ultimately, physicians will need to evaluate case by case, given the symptoms and conditions of a patient,” he said.
Romashkan said more studies are needed to investigate the treatment’s safety, which would require up to 6,000 people.
He said men with low testosterone levels should consult their physician about treatment.
“(He) should talk to his physician, who will determine the clinical significance of changes that the man reports and then decide whether testosterone is right for him or not,” he said.
