EDITORIAL COMMENT

Testosterone deficiency syndrome may associate with erectile dysfunction, increased abdominal fat and reduced muscle mass. Low serum testosterone is also related with anemia, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. In this study, the authors investigated if testosterone undecanoate (TU) reduces anemia and the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with hypogonadism A total of 58 participants with a total testosterone level of less than 2.35 ng/ml received an injection of 1.000 mg TU 6 times; at initial visit, 6, 18, 30, 42 and 54 weeks. They observed that total testosterone and free testosterone levels were restored by TU. Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels significantly increased while anemia and total cholesterol levels significantly reduced. Although there are some limitations of this study e.g. it is not a randomized controlled and a long-term study, TU treatment in hypogonadal men decreased the prevalence of anemia, improved lipid profiles and lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease.