As men age, testosterone levels naturally go down. This process is sometimes referred to as the "male menopause" or andropause. This process occurs when the amount of testosterone in the body decreases and production slows. Most men lose 30 to 40 percent of testosterone between ages 48 and 70. This process can lead to loss of muscle strength, increase in body fat and decreased sexual drive or functionality. .
Not all cases of low testosterone are a product of the body naturally malfunctioning. An injury to the testes, which produces the hormone, can also cause low testosterone. If a man is experiencing the symptoms of low testosterone – low sex drive, fatigue, muscle loss, depression– he should consider being checked for an injury to his testes.
When a man has prostate cancer, the cancer feeds on male hormones, including testosterone. One of the goals of hormone therapy is to deprive the cancer of fuel by dramatically decreasing the amount of male hormones in the body, including testosterone. Hormone therapy is often used for those men who cannot have surgery or have a type of cancer that has returned after other means of treatment.
Male hypogonadism is characterized by the failure to produce testosterone or a decrease in the production of testosterone. This occurs when the testes fail to function normally because of a genetic defect, illness or injury or because of the failures of another hormonal gland. Whereas testosterone inhibits the growth of muscle and body hair, men with hypogonadism may experience late puberty (or not at all). In adults, the condition may have symptoms of low sexual drive, potency, sperm production or overall low body strength. For more information, see Testosterone.
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