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Melinda Sheffield-Moore, E. Lichar Dillon, Shanon L. Casperson, Charles R. Gilkison, Douglas Paddon-Jones, William J. Durham, James J. Grady, Randall J. Urban, A Randomized Pilot Study of Monthly Cycled Testosterone Replacement or Continuous Testosterone Replacement Versus Placebo in Older Men, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 96, Issue 11, 1 November 2011, Pages E1831–E1837, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2011-1262
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Abstract
Cycling androgens has been reported by athletes to improve physical performance by enhancing muscle mass and strength, a paradigm that has not been studied, and may have clinical value in older men being treated with testosterone.
We investigated the efficacy of a monthly cycled testosterone regimen that uses half the testosterone dose as the current standard of care continuous therapy on body composition and muscle strength in older men.
Twenty-four community-dwelling older men 70 ± 2 yr of age with total testosterone levels below 500 ng/dl were randomized at the Institute for Translational Sciences-Clinical Research Center into a 5-month double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Subjects were dosed weekly for 5 months, receiving continuous testosterone (TE, n = 8; 100 mg testosterone enanthate, im injection), monthly cycled testosterone (MO, n = 8; alternating months of testosterone and placebo), or placebo (PL, n = 8).
Main outcomes included body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and upper and lower body muscle strength. Secondary outcomes included body weight, serum hormones, and mixed-muscle protein fractional synthesis rate (FSR).
Total lean body mass was increased and percent fat was reduced after 5 months in TE and MO (P < 0.05). Upper body muscle strength increased in TE, and lower body muscle strength increased in TE and MO (P < 0.05). FSR increased in TE and MO (P < 0.05) but not in PL.
Cycled testosterone improved body composition and increased muscle strength compared with placebo and increased FSR similarly to continuous testosterone.