Testosterone, hemostasis, and cardiovascular diseases in men.
Men have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than women, and adverse thrombotic events increase with age. Recent experimental cross-sectional, and case-control studies have shown that testosterone may affect the hemostatic/fibrinolytic system in men in several ways. It has been hypothesized that physiological doses of testosterone would have a beneficial effect on tissue factor-induced thrombin generation and the development of CVD. The search for eternal youth has created a market for testosterone treatment in aging men during the last few years. However, whether testosterone supplementation could be useful in the treatment of testosterone-deficient elderly men is still controversial. The present review focuses on the coagulation system and CVD from the perspective of testosterone.
Hematological Research Group (HERG), Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway. ellen.brodin@uit.no
Ellen
E
Brodin
Torkel
T
Vikan
John-Bjarne
JB
Hansen
Johan
J
Svartberg
D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D006487:Hemostasis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood* / Q000172:deficiency
D013739:Testosterone