Question about testosterone

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Kitkat
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Question about testosterone

Post by Kitkat »

Hi Everyone--I have been searching through the different threads on the forums and haven't been able to find an answer to this question (apologies if I'm missing it). I just turned 52 and have been on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for a couple months, primarily because of the studies (including the big one at Stanford) indicating cognitive and telomere benefits for women carrying the apoe4 gene (I'm 3/4). I've been taking what the pharmacist gave me, namely a progesterone pill at bedtime and two drops of estradiol twice a day. She also prescribed testosterone. My question is, is the testosterone necessary in terms of cognitive benefits? Thanks! KitKat
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Re: Question about testosterone

Post by sarahb12 »

Not sure. However, I read a article recently about men that have been given treatment to lower testosterone (for prostate cancer) had a higher incidence of dementia - than those not given the treatment. This may or may not correlate to the effect of some testosterone in women.
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Re: Question about testosterone

Post by NF52 »

Kitkat wrote:Hi Everyone--I have been searching through the different threads on the forums and haven't been able to find an answer to this question (apologies if I'm missing it)... My question is, is the testosterone necessary in terms of cognitive benefits? Thanks! KitKat
sarahb12 wrote: I read a article recently about men that have been given treatment to lower testosterone (for prostate cancer) had a higher incidence of dementia - than those not given the treatment. This may or may not correlate to the effect of some testosterone in women.
Hi Kitkat and sarahb12!
You may have come across this thread already, but in case you haven't, here's a link to a reply I made in April to "Surupe". If you click on the red and green link in the middle of the post that says "Testosterone + Menopause search results" you'll find 41 posts on that topic. And at the bottom of the post is a link to how to do searches, which can be filtered for topic titles, authors you follow, etc. Hope this helps!

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=119&p=66352&hilit=t ... use#p66352
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Re: Question about testosterone

Post by marymac »

I've been using a testosterone cream for over a decade (I'm 49, and I went through menopause at 37). The biggest benefit I've noticed is that it has helped to lower my fasting blood sugar. Lots of research showing it has this effect if you google it.
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Re: Question about testosterone

Post by Kitkat »

Thank you, SarahB12, NF52 and marymac. NF52, I did use that search function and I read through the various posts. I continue to feel puzzled about the cognitive benefits of testosterone (I understand that there may be other benefits to testosterone). The testosterone is responsible for acne around my mouth, I believe, so I'd rather stop using it if there are no cognitive benefits.

I would very much welcome thoughts from those on the forums (the wise folks who have been on for a long time, in particular!) who are on bioidentical HRT and have decided as part of that therapy to include testosterone, as well as thoughts from those who decided not to use testosterone, and what the thought process was in each case.
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Re: Question about testosterone

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Kitkat wrote: I would very much welcome thoughts from those on the forums (the wise folks who have been on for a long time, in particular!) who are on bioidentical HRT and have decided as part of that therapy to include testosterone, as well as thoughts from those who decided not to use testosterone, and what the thought process was in each case.
Hi KitKat, sorry for the delayed reply. Today I was looking back through threads I had not read and came across your post in this thread. Personally, I am not supplementing with testosterone, only estradiol and progesterone. I did get some compounded testosterone cream a few years ago but never got into the habit of using it . My not using it is based on difficulty adding yet another supplement protocol rather than any negative thoughts or experiences.
As for why it is recommended, in The End of Alzheimer’s pg 209, Dr Bredesen recommends women have level in 30-70 ng/dL.
He states: Testosterone is another critical player in the synaptic minuet, and optimal levels support synaptic maintenance.” He continues to recommend optimizing all hormones in his latest book.
Dr. Ann Hathaway, who is a hormone expert, points to its efficacy for treatment of sexual dysfunction and also improved mood & sense of well-being in some women.

Are you still using testosterone or have you discontinued?
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Re: Question about testosterone

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floramaria wrote:
Kitkat wrote: I would very much welcome thoughts from those on the forums (the wise folks who have been on for a long time, in particular!) who are on bioidentical HRT and have decided as part of that therapy to include testosterone, as well as thoughts from those who decided not to use testosterone, and what the thought process was in each case.
Hi KitKat, sorry for the delayed reply. Today I was looking back through threads I had not read and came across your post in this thread. Personally, I am not supplementing with testosterone, only estradiol and progesterone. I did get some compounded testosterone cream a few years ago but never got into the habit of using it . My not using it is based on difficulty adding yet another supplement protocol rather than any negative thoughts or experiences.
As for why it is recommended, in The End of Alzheimer’s pg 209, Dr Bredesen recommends women have level in 30-70 ng/dL.
He states: Testosterone is another critical player in the synaptic minuet, and optimal levels support synaptic maintenance.” He continues to recommend optimizing all hormones in his latest book.
Dr. Ann Hathaway, who is a hormone expert, points to its efficacy for treatment of sexual dysfunction and also improved mood & sense of well-being in some women.

Are you still using testosterone or have you discontinued?
You may both be interested in this 2020 article looking at a possible association between ApoE4 women with low testosterone and risk of p-tau (phosphorylated tau). P-tau seems to be crucial ingredient in the development of Alzheimer's.

Here's the takeaway from a small study, and their recommendation for further research:
As expected, women had higher p-Tau levels than men among APOE4 carriers only, yet this difference was eliminated upon adjustment for testosterone. Results suggest that testosterone is protective against p-Tau particularly among APOE4 carriers. The lower testosterone levels that typically characterize women may predispose them to pathological Tau, particularly among female APOE4 carriers....Our findings inform a knowledge gap in our understanding of greater Tauopathy in women versus men on the AD trajectory and in the repeated demonstration of a stronger APOE4 effect in women. Our findings may also help to enlighten disparities in the literature regarding an APOE4 and Tau relationship. This study represents a call to researchers and clinicians that it is equally important to examine the effects of testosterone on AD-related outcomes in women as it is in men, if not more.
Sex differences in Alzheimer’s-related Tau biomarkers and a mediating effect of testosterone
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Re: Question about testosterone

Post by floramaria »

NF52 wrote: You may both be interested in this 2020 article looking at a possible association between ApoE4 women with low testosterone and risk of p-tau (phosphorylated tau). P-tau seems to be crucial ingredient in the development of Alzheimer's.

Here's the takeaway from a small study, and their recommendation for further research:
As expected, women had higher p-Tau levels than men among APOE4 carriers only, yet this difference was eliminated upon adjustment for testosterone. Results suggest that testosterone is protective against p-Tau particularly among APOE4 carriers. The lower testosterone levels that typically characterize women may predispose them to pathological Tau, particularly among female APOE4 carriers....Our findings inform a knowledge gap in our understanding of greater Tauopathy in women versus men on the AD trajectory and in the repeated demonstration of a stronger APOE4 effect in women. Our findings may also help to enlighten disparities in the literature regarding an APOE4 and Tau relationship. This study represents a call to researchers and clinicians that it is equally important to examine the effects of testosterone on AD-related outcomes in women as it is in men, if not more.
Sex differences in Alzheimer’s-related Tau biomarkers and a mediating effect of testosterone
Thanks you so much for posting this, NF52! Really important and specific information on the benefits of testosterone for women. As soon as I read this, I went to find my compounded cream, but it is expired by a few years. :roll:
I will print out the takeaway from the study and see if my current PCP will write a new prescription.
So grateful you shared this.
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Kitkat
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Re: Question about testosterone

Post by Kitkat »

Wow! Okay! This is good to know. I ended up using it only intermittently but now I will use it regularly, thanks to this information.
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Re: Question about testosterone

Post by hairyfairy »

Iⱱe read that high levels of testosteron can reduce IQ, and I wouldnt be keen to use it as I have a past history of adult acne which I wouldnt want to recur.
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