Men's Health

Testosterone May Protect Against Alzheimer's

Prevention Trials continued...

Last November, an Institute of Medicine task force came out against large-scale testosterone prevention trials similar to the estrogen replacement therapy trials in women. Instead, the group recommended smaller trials involving only older men who had been diagnosed with low testosterone and who are not at high risk for prostate cancer.

Just as long-term estrogen replacement therapy in older women has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, there are concerns that men who take testosterone may be increasing their prostate cancer risk.

Alzheimer's expert Samuel Gandy, MD, PhD, says the hope is that scientists will develop a "designer" testosterone that would target the brain and not affect other organs, in the same way the designer estrogen-like compounds, such as Raloxifene (Evista), targets the bones to prevent osteoporosis.

"Theoretically we could develop a designer estrogen or testosterone that could be protective against dementia," he says.

The Alzheimer's Association spokesman, who runs the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University, says the long-term risks vs. benefits of taking testosterone to prevent dementia will not be known until clinical trials are completed.

"Until that happens there is no medical justification for taking testosterone to lower the risk of Alzheimer's," he says. "The data just aren't there to support that as a recommendation."