Testosterone May Benefit Women With Hysterectomies

Women with low testosterone levels who had previously undergone hysterectomy, with or without ovary removal, showed improvements in sexual function, muscle mass, and physical function after receiving testosterone therapy, according to new research published online in Menopause. Women who have undergone these procedures show declines in both estrogen and testosterone levels in the blood, which can lead to symptoms like sexual dysfunction, fatigue, low mood, and decreased muscle mass.

Over the course of 24 weeks, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston studied 71 postmenopausal women who previously underwent hysterectomy, with or without removal of their ovaries, and had total testosterone levels less than 31ng/dL. They studied the dose-dependent effects of testosterone on sexual function, body composition, muscle performance, and physical function in this patient population. “Recently, there has been a lot of interest in testosterone treatment in postmenopausal women for sexual dysfunction and other various health conditions,” lead study author Grace Huang, MD, a research physician in BWH’s Department of Endocrinology, said in a statement. “However, no previous studies have evaluated the benefits and negative effects of testosterone replacement over a wide range of doses.”

Huang and her colleagues randomly assigned participants to receive weekly intramuscular injections of either placebo or one of four testosterone doses—3mg, 6.25mg, 12.5mg, and 25mg. They found that increases in sexual function, muscle mass, and physical performance were significantly greater in women assigned to the 25mg group, compared with placebo, but not in women in the lower-dose groups. “A primary concern with testosterone therapy is that it can cause symptoms of masculinization among women,” Huang added. “These symptoms include unwanted hair growth, acne, and lower voice tone. It’s important to note that very few of these side effects were seen in our study.” Currently, testosterone therapy for women has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because of inadequate long-term safety data.

The authors stress that long-term trials are needed to weigh the improvements they documented against potential long-term adverse effects, such as increased risk of heart disease and breast cancer.

—Colleen Mullarkey

Reference:

Huang G, Basaria S, Travison TG, Ho MH, Davda M, Mazer NA, et al. Testosterone dose-response relationships in hysterectomized women with or without oopjorectomy: Effects on sexual function, body composition, muscle performance and physical function in a randomized. Menopause. 2013 Nov 25. [Epub ahead of print.]