The male menopause and other hormonal changes that affect the welfare men after age 50. Sexual dysfunction in older men is mainly associated with erectile dysfunction, rather than the ejaculatory. The latter aspect is disruption is due more to medications or prostate surgery that aging itself. In men with less production of sex hormones, reduced libido is often accompanied by a diminished welfare and / or depression, which could be improved with hormone replacement therapy with androgens. Cognitive decline, visceral obesity, osteopenia (decreased bone mineral density does not reach the levels of osteoporosis), and sarcopenia (decrease in muscle mass) also accompany relative androgen deficiency in older adults. These conditions respond favorably to androgen supplementation, especially in men with low testosterone levels. Few studies have examined whether

testosterone supplementation improves cognitive function in men, and whether or not they improve physical performance. As for the risk of this replacement therapy, it seems that the repletion of testosterone to physiological levels is not associated with malignant transformation of prostate tissue, but could stimulate the growth of existing carcinomas sensitive to androgens. Therefore, you must become a dosage of PSA and prostate examination before any androgen replacement therapy. Moreover, testosterone replacement therapy can worsen sleep apnea, induce gynecomastia, erythrocytosis (increased red blood cells), and raise blood pressure. Therefore, the long-term safety of androgen replacement therapy requires further study. The role of steroids in aging The hormone-producing machinery of the adrenal gland failure in men and older women. However, this decline is not uniform or affect all the hormones, and the ability to produce cortisol is preserved. Paradoxically, this is a problem at the same time, a deregulation in the brain mechanisms that control the production of steroids, which is associated with a deterioration in the loss of synapses and neuronal plasticity already normally accompany aging . The prostate The prostate volume increases progressively with age in men with normal hormone function. Although androgen dependent, this bias also depends on unknown genetic and environmental factors. Moreover, several factors (estradiol, IGF-I, IGF-II, fibroblast growth factor and keratinocytes) act locally to promote the growth of the prostate, as well as certain variations in the gene controlling androgen receptors.