TESTOSTERONE PATCHES AND SUBLINGUAL PILLS

Report #6241 7/5/94

After the age of 50, most men start to lose muscle, sexual drive and assertiveness because their bodies can't produce as much testosterone as it did when they were younger. A new testosterone patch has been approved by the Food and Drug administration and is available by prescription from Alza Laboratories of Palo Alto, California.

When testosterone is taken as a pill, it lower blood levels of the good HDL cholesterol and increases a man's chances of getting a heart attack. However, it does this only when it reaches the liver after it is given by mouth or after being injected into the muscles in high doses. When testosterone is absorbed through the skin from a patch or through blood vessels in the mouth, it does not go to the liver and does not lower cholesterol. In fact, a study in the International Journal of Obesity shows that the male hormone, testosterone, when given by patch may help to prevent heart attacks in older men. Men who deposit fat primarily in their bellies are far more likely to suffer from heart attacks than men who deposit fat primarily in their hips. The same applies to women. (JAMA 1/27/93). When testosterone patches ar given to men with fat bellies, it reduces their belly fat and lowers cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels. A concern is that extra testosterone may cause a preexisting prostate cancer to spread through the body. Future research should show if this happens and if it doesn't, most men over 70 will want to take testosterone patches and pills under the tongue.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News