A pair of newly-released medical researches indicate that men's testosterone levels could determine their likelihood of developing lifestyle diseases. The first study found that men with low testosterone levels are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The second study showed that men with high testosterone levels are at an increased risk for heart attacks.
Testosterone Is A Natural Anti-Diabetic Hormone
In a study published in Cell Metabolism, researchers at Tulane University claimed to have found the cause of type 2 diabetes in testosterone-deficient men. Laboratory experiments on mice revealed that testosterone actually has anti-diabetic properties.
Researchers specifically bred a batch of male mice so that their pancreatic beta cells lacked androgen receptors, the nuclear receptor to testosterone. The mice were then given a daily diet of Western snacks like those rich in sugar and fats, EurekAlert! reported.
After testing the mice's response to glucose, researchers found that the mice had developed glucose intolerance due to their low insulin secretion. Med Scape noted that glucose intolerance is a pre-diabetic state of hyperglycemia. On the brighter side of things, researchers concluded that the study has established a much-needed building block to further improve diabetes treatment.
"We have found the cause, and a potential treatment pathway, for type 2 diabetes in testosterone-deficient men," said lead researcher Dr. Franck Mauvais-Jarvis. "Our study shows that testosterone is an anti-diabetic hormone in men. If we can modulate its action without side effects, it is a therapeutic avenue for type 2 diabetes."
Androgen Receptors Encourage Calcification
Across the North Atlantic, researchers at the University of Edinburgh tested the correlation between men's testosterone levels and cardiovascular diseases. Results from sophisticated clinical trials on mice showed that testosterone causes blood vessel cells to generate hard calcium deposits. The mice's blood vessel cells did not display the same level of activity when researchers removed androgen receptors.
"Calcification is particularly difficult to treat, as the biological processes behind the disease are similar to those used by our body to make and repair bone," Dr. Vicky MacRae told Drug Watch. "By finding this link between testosterone and calcification we may have discovered a new way of treating this disease and also reducing heart disease."
Calcification or hardening of the arteries has been known to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. It's worth mentioning that testosterone is only one of many contributing factors that lead to cardiovascular diseases. Some of the well-known causes include age, gender, blood pressure and cholesterol level.
