Washington, May 16 (ANI): A new study has found that testosterone may help men to combat the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS).
It has already been confirmed that female hormone estriol helps against the disease in women.
Multiple sclerosis is a progressive disease involving the immune and central nervous systems. MS and many other autoimmune diseases (in which the body attacks its own systems or tissues) are less common in men than in women.
The study was conducted by a team of researchers including Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl and Dr. Nancy L. Sicotte at the University of California, Los Angeles.
As part of the study, researchers conducted a study of testosterone treatment in 10 men with relapsing-remitting MS, which is characterized by periods of neurologic symptoms, such as numbness or difficulty walking, followed by periods of remission.
After enrolment in the study, the men, average age 46, entered a six-month pre-treatment phase, during which symptoms were monitored but no therapies were administered.
Each man then applied 10 grams of a gel containing 100 milligrams of testosterone to his upper arms once daily for 12 months.
During the first nine months of the study, the men’s symptoms were simply monitored, then followed by just three months of treatment.
Researchers found that the rate of brain deterioration slowed by 67 percent. In addition, muscle mass increased an average of 1.7 kilograms during the treatment phase. There were no reported adverse effects.
"After a year we saw an improvement in cognitive performance and a slowing of brain deterioration," Voskuhl said.
"The other optimistic thing about this study was that the protective effect of testosterone treatment on brain atrophy was observed in the absence of an appreciable anti-inflammatory effect which suggests the protection the testosterone provided may not be limited to MS, but may be applicable to other non-inflammatory neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease," Voskuhl said.
The findings of the study were published in the May issue of the journal Archives of Neurology. (ANI)