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Androgen Replacement in Women: A Commentary
Susan Davis
The Jean Hailes Foundation, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Susan Davis, The Jean Hailes Foundation,
173 Carinish Road, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia. E-mail suedavis@netlink.com.au.
Abstract
There is increasing evidence to suggest that many postmenopausal women experience symptoms
alleviated by androgen therapy and that such symptoms may be secondary to androgen deficiency.
Affected women complain of fatigue, low libido, and diminished well-being, symptoms easily and
frequently attributed to psychosocial and environmental factors. When such symptoms occur in the
setting of low circulating bioavailable testosterone, testosterone replacement results in significant
improvement in symptomatology and, hence, quality of life for the majority of women. Whether the
apparent therapeutic effects of testosterone replacement are mediated by testosterone and its
metabolite 5 - dihydrotestosterone or are a consequence of aromatization to estrogen is not known.
Despite the paucity of data regarding its effects, inclusion of testosterone in postmenopausal hormone
replacement regimens is not uncommon and is likely to become more widespread with the availability of
preparations developed specifically for women.
Dr. Gordon:
Other symptoms attributable to androgen (testosterone) deficiency include vaginal dryness and irritation,
difficult or impossible orgasms, coronary artery disease, type II diabetes, congestive heart failure,
and, of course, osteoporosis, among others.
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