Testosterone therapy may reduce non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese 睾丸激素治療可減少肥胖症的非酒精性脂肪肝疾病

News Release 25-May-2021

Editor’s note:

Testosterone therapy can surely help obese individuals. Gaining fat is a feature of a female because of female sex hormone while gaining muscle is a trait of a male because of his male sex hormone. If a female’s body does not have more fat than males, then she may not be feminine enough (not having sufficient female sex hormone). Likewise, if a male has a lot of fat but not much muscle, then he may not have enough male sex hormone. The ratio of female sex hormone to male sex hormone determines that a man looks like a man and a woman looks like a woman.

However, taking testosterone as a medication can be risky. The best thing to do is do physical exercise. That is why, obese individuals need do physical exercise which can not only consume calories or energy but also can boost male sex hormone, and promoting muscle growth and reduction of fat portion.

睾丸激素療法肯定可以幫助肥胖的人。 由於女性的性激素，增加脂肪是女性的特徵，而由於男性的性激素，獲得肌肉是男性的特徵。 如果女性體內的脂肪不比男性多，那麼女性可能不夠女性化（女性體內的性激素不足）。 同樣，如果男性有很多脂肪，但肌肉卻不多，那麼他可能沒有足夠的男性性激素。 女性性激素與男性性激素的比例決定了男人看起來像男人，女人看起來像女人。 但是，以睾丸激素為藥物可能會有風險。 最好的辦法是進行體育鍛煉。 這就是為什麼肥胖的人需要進行體育鍛煉，不僅可以消耗卡路里或能量，還可以增強男性性激素，並促進肌肉生長和減少脂肪含量。

European Society of Endocrinology

Research News

Press release – Abstract 481: Effects of testosterone therapy on morphology and grade of NAFLD in obese men with functional hypogonadism and type 2 diabetes

According to a new study, testosterone therapy may reduce non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese men with functional hypogonadism and type-2 diabetes.

Testosterone therapy may help obese men with functional hypogonadism and type-2 diabetes reduce the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to a study being presented at the 23rd?European Congress of Endocrinology (e-ECE 2021), on Tuesday 25 May 2021 at 14:00 CET (http://www.ece2021.org). The two-year study found that therapy with testosterone undecanoate normalised testosterone levels, reduced NAFLD, and suppressed the symptoms of hypogonadism in men living with these conditions.

NAFLD is emerging as a public health issue worldwide. It is estimated that prevalent cases will increase 21% by 2030, from 83.1 million to 100.9 million. NAFLD is more commonly found in people with type-2 diabetes, and is linked to obesity, insulin resistance and atherogenic dyslipidemia. NAFLD refers to excess fat accumulation in the liver, in the absence of excessive alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption of less than 30 g (3.75 units) per day for men is used as the cut-off to diagnose NAFLD. As an increasing global health issue, this study and its findings may be a promising area for further research.

Dr Kristina Groti Antonic and her team from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, carried out a large study on the effects of testosterone therapy on glycemic control, metabolic parameters, vascular function and morphology in obese men with hypogonadism and type-2 diabetes mellitus. They presented a part of this study at e-ECE 2021 in which they evaluated the effects of testosterone therapy on morphology and grade of NAFLD in this population. The two-year clinical trial saw 55 males with functional hypogonadism and type-2 diabetes participate. The first year focused on a double blind, placebo-controlled study and the following year was used for follow-up.

During the study, the participants were randomised into two groups. The first group received testosterone undecanoate during both years of the study, while the second group received a placebo in the first year and testosterone therapy in the second year. A range of tests including testosterone levels, prostate specific antigen and routine blood tests were assessed at the beginning of the trial, 12 and 24 months. Liver ultrasounds for NAFLD grade assessments were performed at the beginning and after two years, which showed an improvement in NAFLD grades after two years of the trial.

Dr Kristina Groti Antonic shared that, “improvement of NAFLD grade was a result of improved insulin resistance, reduction in body mass index and body weight, along with changes in body composition. As we know, testosterone increases lean body mass at the expense of fat mass, either alone or in combination with behavioral and lifestyle modifications. Testosterone with its anti-inflammatory effects also reduced chronic inflammatory state in the liver. Our study shows that testosterone therapy could be used as a suitable therapy for obese men living with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and therefore the findings can be used to tackle this growing pandemic.”

This knowledge could help obese men living with functional hypogonadism and type-2 diabetes experience normalised testosterone levels and reduced prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

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