| Research shows testosterone appears to be key to reducing body fat and
building muscle in women after menopause. "As women go through menopause there
is a natural increase in fat," said Dr. Adrian Dobs, the study's lead
investigator. "By adding small doses of androgen with estrogen to a woman's body,
we may be able to reduce her body fat while also increasing her lean muscle."
Estrogen replacement is common in aging women to combat the natural decline in
hormone levels but androgen replacement has been ignored.
Research conducted by Johns Hopkins University, which was presented at an Endocrine
Society Conference in San Diego on Saturday, showed for the first time that low doses of
estrogen-androgen hormone replacement therapy improved body composition in healthy
post-menopausal women.
On average, women in menopause have 20% higher body fat and lose 4% lean muscle during
the first 3 years.
In the four-month study conducted at Johns Hopkins, fat tissue in the women receiving
estrogen-androgen therapy decreased up to 4 percent, while lean muscle increased by 6
percent. Women receiving only estrogen did not have any changes in body composition.
"A major concern with testosterone is a decline in HDL (so-called good
cholesterol)," Dobs said. But she also noted that the study indicated a parallel
decline in triglycerides, which are associated with heart disease. "We think the
overall effect on cardiovascular disease may be minimal," Dobs added.
Previous research has found that estrogen-androgen therapy may also help improve bone
density in post-menopausal women.
"The body's muscular and skeletal systems work together to help support
physical structure and movement. We need to determine whether this increase in lean mass
is associated with improvement in strength and bone mass," Dobs noted.
She noted that the data was important for both older men and women because bone and
muscle mass continue to decrease while fat mass increases with age. Androgen therapy
appears to be an important area that has been neglected in the pass.
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