Hypogonadism medical therapy

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Medical Therapy

Patients of hypogonadism are treated mainly with sex hormones replacement. Sex hormones will help in retaining the secondary sexual characteristics for both genders. They will also help in maintaining normal bone density and muscle mass. The main medical therapy in males will be testosterone replacement. In female, estrogen and progesterone replacement is important.

Medical therapy for men

Testosterone replacement therapy

Treatments of hypogonadism depend on the cause.

• For hypogonadism resulted from certain autoimmune disorders or infection in sex glands, treatment protocol may focus on these causes and corticosteroids or antibiotics may be helpful. When tumors in central nervous system are the main causes of hypogonadism, treatment opinion may be surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. If liver and kidney diseases result in hypogonadism, recovery of liver and renal function may be the first.
• Hormone replacement: Hormone replacement for patients with hypogonadism during childhood can stimulate puberty and the development of secondary sex characteristics. Hormones often used include estrogen or testosterone, and pituitary hormones. Doctors will begin with an initial low dose of such hormones and gradual increases to avoid side effects.
• Hypogonadism is most often treated by replacement of the appropriate hormones. For men this is testosterone. Commonly used testosterone formulations include transdermal testosterone, injectable testosterone, and buccal testosterone. Oral testosterone is no longer used in the U.S. because it is broken down in the liver and rendered inactive.
• Another feasible alternative is hCG.

Medical therapy for women

For women estradiol and progesterone are replaced. Some types of fertility defects can be treated; some cannot.