Second youth, for a price

Great Debates
1

NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters Health) - Testosterone supplementation could one day help keep men fit, active and happy well into old age, just as estrogen lends vitality to postmenopausal women, a doctor suggests.

Between age 20 and 70, a man’s testosterone level may drop as much as 50%. A growing number of medical professionals refer to this decline as “andropause”–analogous to menopause in women.

However, hormone replacement therapy for men remains controversial. Some researchers suspect extra testosterone could spur the growth of prostate cancer, and the illicit use of the hormones by bodybuilders and

There are few more pages of this. Do you think it is a good idea? That the older men are not designed to function on high testosterone levels like the yonger men for nothing, by a sheer nature mistake? And that American doctors now best?
Let’s see what happens with a shorter link - Coldfire
[Edited by Coldfire on 12-19-2000 at 10:10 AM]

gigi

sounds like a debate
I’m not sure it should be looked at as a “mistake of nature” that hormones decrease over time and people decline in various capacities. It seems to make some sense that people grow up, reach some sort of prime, and then slowly decline to death. Sounds depressing, but natural.

The trouble is, humans possess and develop more and more resources to retard or reverse the natural progression of things. As with any other technique, this one will be up to the choice and ability to pay of each person.
OK. If you say a debate, it goes to GB.

I meant that testosteron drops on purpose. Body functions gradually slow done, so one can, presumably, live longer. To live a shoter live functioning as young could be appealing. Perhaps, I am wrong. But we can save on SS.

2

I’m sorry, but my English language and abbreviations parser just coughed and died trying to understand the OP.

3

To live a shoter live functioning as young could be appealing. Perhaps, I am wrong.

Well, there are those among us who believe that quality is more important than quantity.

4

Here’s an eensy bit of clarification. Peace also posted this in GQ http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=51767

Manny locked it up, but not before Gigi had posted to it. Evidently Peace Copy and Pasted the whole GQ thread to Post New Thread over here, hence the inclusion of Gigi’s post in the OP. This, coming after Coldfire fixed the link–

–is evidently Peace’s response to Gigi’s post. All clear now? :smiley:

5

Ah, okay. And I think I’ve finally figured out that by “SS”, the OP means “Social Security”, not that Nazi stormtrooper organization. :wink:

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Tracer, my sincerest apologies. I was too inexperienced, did not know how to handle this C&P.
Anyway, the Nazi SS does not exist for 50 years, I saw “SSN” many times, even on government papers, so I stupidly assumed it was an accepted abbreviation.
So, do you want to live your normal lifespan or get testosteron injections and risks? And, I mean that I am not sure of benefits, i.e. I am not sure that increased doses of testosteron in 60 yo man would have the same effect as high(normal for the age) doses in 20 yo one.

Peace

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I heard somewhere(I don’t remember where) that extra testosterone is useless if your body already produces enough.