Testosterone Deficiency and Risk of Cognitive Disorders in Aging Males.
Giovanni CoronaFederica GuaraldiGiulia RastrelliAlessandra SforzaMario MaggiPublished in: The world journal of men's health (2020)
Cognitive impairment and dementia are predicted to undergo a dramatic increase in the following years with more than 131.5 million people being affected by 2030. Although vascular diseases play the most important role in the pathogenesis of memory impairment in aging men, some pre-clinical and clinical evidence has suggested a possible contribution of the age-dependent reduction of testosterone (T). In this paper we have summarized and discussed all the information derived from available animal and experimental studies. In addition, we meta-analyzed data rising from all randomized placebo controlled trials (RCTs) published so far. Only limited preclinical and clinical evidence can support a possible contribution of T in the pathogenesis of the age-dependent impairment of cognitive functions. In addition, our meta-analysis did not support the use of T replacement therapy for the improvement of several cognitive domains analyzed including attention/working memory, executive function, language, verbal memory, visual memory, visuomotor ability, and visuospatial ability. However, it is important to recognize that the vast majority of available RCTs included mixed populations of subjects with eugonadism and hypogonadism preventing any final conclusion being drawn on these issues.
Keyphrases
- working memory
- cognitive impairment
- transcranial direct current stimulation
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- replacement therapy
- placebo controlled
- systematic review
- double blind
- autism spectrum disorder
- mild cognitive impairment
- healthcare
- open label
- phase ii
- squamous cell carcinoma
- electronic health record
- meta analyses
- study protocol
- deep learning
- smoking cessation
- health information
- bone marrow
- phase ii study
- middle aged