The pathway of partial androgen deficiency of aging male.
The well documented age-related decline in serum testosterone (T) in men as the basis of the partial androgen deficiency of aging male (PADAM) syndrome is a typical multifactorial phenomenon. Aging per se can reduce T secretion through several different mechanisms, such as a primary impairment of the testes, the pituitary gland and the neurohypothalamic component, and age-associated changes in peripheral steroid metabolism. Together, these factors define the so called "idiopathic pathway". Generally, the decline in T is exacerbated by many other age-associated clinical conditions that can interfere with T metabolism: these represent the "secondary pathway". Most people experience a PADAM syndrome in which idiopathic and secondary components are simultaneously present. The different multifactorial pathway mechanisms are reviewed in this paper.
Valenti
G
G
Chair of Geriatrics, University of Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy. giorgiovalenti@libero.it
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D047649:Andropause / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*
D013739:Testosterone