Testosterone gel improves metabolic syndrome

Adding testosterone gel to diet and exercise improves metabolic control in hypogonadic men with metabolic syndrome and newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, say German investigators (J Andrology 2009;30:726–33).

They randomised 32 men to diet plus exercise, with or without testosterone gel 50mg/day. After 52 weeks, the gel was associated with greater improvement in lipids and waist circumference compared with diet plus exercise alone, and increased the proportion of men no longer meeting diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome from 31 to 81 per cent. All men using testosterone gel reduced HbA1c to below 7.0 per cent, and 88 per cent achieved an HbA1C of <6.5 per cent.