Testosterone is a hormone secreted by the testes in men, in smaller quantities by the ovaries in women and also by the adrenal glands in both sexes. If it is rightly attributed to a role in virility, this hormone has many other functions in the human body.
In men, testosterone production takes place during fetal life, then stops at birth and begins again at puberty. It is an androgenic hormone, that is to say, that it is at the origin of the development of male physical characters such as the development of the genital organs, hair growth or even the molting of the voice to the adolescence.
What is testosterone used for?
It is at the origin of the development of the sexual organs, at puberty. It initiates the sperm formation process (spermatogenesis).
It is also responsible for the presence of male trivial sexual features, such as:
- Hairiness
- The voice
- The development of muscle mass (it is an anabolic hormone)
- The distribution of fat in favor of the abdomen
It also acts on bone density, and when the level of testosterone is low (due to age or anti-androgenic hormone treatments), the risk of osteoporosis increases.
Finally, it acts on behavior, at the neuro-cerebral level and promotes:
- energy and resistance to fatigue
- motivation (it’s a psychostimulant)
- aggression
- Libido
However, by the age of 30, testosterone levels drop in men for which they take a proper diet or food supplements. Check out testosterone boosters at testogen.com.
How does testosterone work on the prostate?
The prostate is, in reality, endowed with receptors of dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
Testosterone acts on the functioning and the volume of the prostate gland thanks to an enzyme, 5alpha-reductase, which transforms testosterone into DHT.
In fact, when we want to decrease the volume of the prostate, during the treatment of benign hyperplasia, we often use drugs from the class of 5alpha-reductase inhibitors. These prevent testosterone from turning into DHT. And as the volume of the gland depends on DHT, it decreases.
At puberty, prostate development (like that of other sexual organs) is induced by the increased secretion of testosterone.
And during life, the secretion of testosterone evolves: it increases to reach a peak between 30 and 45 years before falling gradually to find values close to those of pre-adolescence after 75 years.
This is called DALA, which is the age-related androgen deficiency.
Is there a link between the evolution of testosterone production and the pathologies of the prostate that appear with age?
Doctors and researchers have repeatedly asked this question.
Admittedly, benign hyperplasia such as prostate cancer appears rather after 50 years, that is to say at the time when the drop in testosterone production is more noticeable, but the link between the two phenomena has never been shown.
Similarly, we sought to highlight a correlation between the risk of developing prostate cancer and the testosterone level of the subjects. No link could be proven. Furthermore, the administration of testosterone in the treatment of DALA does not affect the risk of the development of prostate cancer or hyperplasia either.
But the prescription of treatment must imperatively be preceded by the carrying out of complete screening examinations (PSA dosage, digital rectal examination, or even biopsies at least).
Testosterone may accelerate the development of incipient cancer; however, once you know there is no cancer, administering testosterone will not affect the risk of developing a tumor.
We will just insist on the importance of submitting each year to the classic screening examinations. (PSA and TR).