Cenegenics Complete Guide to Healthy Aging - (Page 35) Younger men face different problems than older ones, when it comes to low testosterone levels. Imagine walking into a dimly lit room. You look at the 300-watt light bulb and wonder why the room isn’t brighter. Is there something wrong with the rheostat—or the bulb? In younger men—30s, 0s and even early 0s—the rheostat is the issue. The pituitary gland may slow down or stop producing the stimulating luteinizing hormone (LH). Testicles aren’t receiving a signal, so they don’t produce testosterone. Simply giving these men direct testosterone supplementation usually is contraindicated. They might feel better, but the problem just became complicated because the added testosterone (in patients with low LH) shuts down the biofeedback mechanism, causing testicular atrophy. The appropriate therapy is to stimulate the LH, causing the testicles to produce more testosterone on their own. As a result, patients enjoy a more physiologic benefit, keeping testicles active. The older man is another matter. The problem isn’t the rheostat: the bulb needs replacing. In this case, hormonal therapy restores levels to their age-appropriate norm. And then for some men, the rheostat and the bulb are issues. When the rheostat is the problem, hormonal therapy helps relieve men from the devastating symptoms that negatively impact the male psyche, hinder intimate relationships and affect work performance: decreased libido and poor sexual performance; thinning hair; increased body fat, especially abdominal or pectoral fat; reduced lean muscle tissue; lack of focus or drive; cognitive impairment and depression; and decreased bone mass. Testosterone measurement. Clinical indicators of declining testosterone may give a care provider the notion an individual may be a candidate for testosterone replacement. However, objective measures must be obtained to properly institute and manage therapy as well as rule out and address accompanying medical problems. Both total and free testosterone studies should be measured to adequately evaluate testosterone levels. For males, 0-,000 nanograms per deciliter (ng/dL) are given as a normal laboratory range, for men age 0-0. For females, this range is -0 ng/ dL. Free testosterone levels average approximately % of the total, 00 picograms per millilitre (pg/ml) for men and -0 pg/ml for women. Free testosterone is the more valuable of the two, reflecting the amount of hormone available to perform useful work. Relying on a 0-year age span (from ages 0 to 0) is not useful. A decline of 0% from more youthful levels will produce the previously mentioned clinical problems, yet is declared “within normal range.” A more accurate approach is using the upper end of normal range, adjusted for age—then maintain these levels over time, rather than letting them continually decline. This is the healthy range. The Cenegenics® approach arrests falling hormone levels and prevents their decline. Testosterone levels provide enough clinical information to decide whether replacement is indicated. Ideally, they should be considered in context of other hormonal and laboratory studies. A Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) measurement and Digital Rectal Exam (DRE) must accompany testosterone testing at your initial evaluation: () as screens for preexisting prostate disease, () to direct further medical evaluation should elevated levels or abnormal exam be detected and (3) for use as a baseline in follow-ups. A complete endocrine profile is necessary to create the most effective testosterone supplementation program, including thyroid hormones, luteinizing hormone (LH), estrogen, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), blood count, lipid profiles and other laboratory and metabolic marker tests (such as body composition and bone density). Once therapy begins, followup tests for testosterone (and other markers) must be monitored, ensuring adequate safety and effectiveness. Estrogen: A real powerhouse. Estrogen occurs in men and women. Men make sufficient estrogen for their needs. That is not the case for women, particularly as they head toward and enter those menopausal years. Estrogen is proven beneficial for libido and secondary sex characteristics, collagen production, vaginal/bladder tissue elasticity, heart-valve health, menses regulation, electrolyte and nitrogen metabolism, pregnancy maintenance, reproductive tissue, skin, breasts, brain health, artery lining protection and HDL (good cholesterol) production. iii. th e s CienCe B ehind Cen egeniCs WWW.CENEGENICS.COM 3 III. the science Behind Cenegenics http://WWW.CENEGENICS.COM
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