{"id":29830,"date":"2020-12-14T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T08:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/?p=29830"},"modified":"2020-12-09T23:27:40","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T23:27:40","slug":"testosterone-therapy-may-reverse-erectile-dysfunction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/erectile-dysfunction\/testosterone-therapy-may-reverse-erectile-dysfunction\/","title":{"rendered":"Testosterone Therapy May Reverse Erectile Dysfunction from Diabetes"},"content":{"rendered":"

New research strongly suggests that the low testosterone levels frequently seen in men with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) play a central role in how the disease develops, progresses, and responds to medication and weight loss efforts.<\/p>\n

This article looks at a recent study that investigated how treatment with testosterone replacement therapy\u00a0<\/a>affected men with T2DM and low T levels. We\u2019ll discuss the results as well as what the results mean for men who are experiencing complications of type 2 diabetes like nerve damage and erectile dysfunction. Finally, we\u2019ll touch on the many options available for treating diabetic ED<\/a> and how you can have them delivered right to your doorstep from eDrugstore.com.<\/p>\n

Can Low Testosterone Cause Diabetes?<\/h3>\n

If you had to rattle off some possible causes of diabetes, what would you come up with?<\/p>\n

Lousy diet? Not exercising? Runs in your family?<\/p>\n

How about low testosterone? Did that one show up on your radar? Probably not.<\/p>\n

(Full disclosure: It was news to this writer as well.)<\/p>\n

\"Glucometer.\"<\/h3>\n

Diabetes in a Nutshell<\/h3>\n

Diabetes mellitus\u00a0<\/a>is a complex metabolic disease where the pancreas doesn\u2019t make enough insulin to meet the body\u2019s needs. Your body needs insulin to make energy from the food you eat. Without it, blood sugar can\u2019t get from your blood to your cells, resulting in high blood sugar levels.<\/p>\n

In type 1<\/a> diabetics, the cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the person\u2019s own immune system, so they can\u2019t produce any insulin at all. In T2DM though, the pancreas makes a lot of insulin around the clock because the person\u2019s cells and organs are resistant to its effects.<\/p>\n

Untreated type 1 diabetics will have high blood sugar but an insulin level close to zero. Untreated type 2\u00a0<\/a>diabetics, however, will have high blood sugar AND high insulin levels. Insulin tells your body to take in and store energy in the form of fat, so having high insulin levels all the time causes many type 2s to be overweight or obese while simultaneously making it difficult or impossible for them to lose weight.<\/p>\n

Eventually the pancreas \u201cburns out\u201d and can\u2019t keep up, causing blood sugar to rise higher and higher.<\/p>\n

\"Wrecking<\/h3>\n

High Blood Sugar: A Molecular Wrecking Ball<\/h3>\n

Long-term high blood sugar wreaks havoc on the body. It damages blood vessels and nerves all over, leading to complications that range from erectile dysfunction<\/a> to kidney failure. It\u2019s also closely linked to other conditions like high blood pressure, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, collectively known as metabolic syndrome<\/strong>. These conditions reinforce each other\u2019s negative effects and make it very stubborn to treat.<\/p>\n

(Side observation: Why don\u2019t we ever get diseases that cancel each other out?)<\/p>\n

Tangent aside, if a person with T2DM can lose the excess weight, their blood sugar will steadily decrease to the point where their diabetes is considered \u201cin remission,” medication can be stopped, and the risk of complications goes way down. This is the ultimate goal of treating diabetes.<\/p>\n

Losing that weight and reaching that goal though, is easier said than done if the person is still insulin-resistant. So as you can imagine, reducing insulin resistance is a very hot area of research, and a recent scientific study published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism<\/em> may have made a breakthrough on the relationship between testosterone and type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

\"Testosterone.\"<\/p>\n

Testosterone and Diabetes: Race To the Top or Race To the Bottom?<\/h3>\n

Low testosterone levels (low T) don\u2019t cause direct damage as high blood sugar does. But they make it much tougher for the body to process, use, and store energy. Low T also increases insulin resistance and speeds up the onset of diabetes.<\/p>\n

Low T can be the result of the natural decline that comes with aging, but it can also be an effect of anti-hormonal treatments for prostate cancer<\/a>. These treatments reduce how much testosterone your body makes and are associated with a greatly increased risk of developing diabetes.<\/p>\n

As a person develops T2DM, it creates a feedback loop where the low T makes diabetes worse, and diabetes drives testosterone levels further down. Blood sugar races up, testosterone races down. Everybody loses! Nobody wins!<\/p>\n

\"Testerone.\"<\/h3>\n

The Science Behind the Study: Testosterone and Diabetes Remission<\/h3>\n

The study we’re going to look at today<\/a> included 356 men who had T2DM and low T and followed up with them for 11 years. All patients received standard diabetes treatment. Half also received testosterone therapy (TTh) in the form of long-acting testosterone injections every 12 weeks, while the other half didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Effects on Blood Sugar<\/h4>\n

Treatment with TTh rapidly restored testosterone levels to normal, and at the end of the 11-year study period, the men who received TTh “had significant progressive and sustained reduction in fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c, a measure of average blood sugar over last three months], and fasting insulin over the treatment period.\u201d Blood sugar levels decreased by an average of 32 mg\/dL.<\/p>\n

In the control group that didn\u2019t receive TTh, the story was quite different. Fasting blood sugar in these men increased<\/em> by 32 mg\/dL, with HbA1c and insulin levels increasing as well. This indicates their diabetes had worsened over the course of the study despite being treated with the same diabetes regimen as the TTh group.<\/p>\n

Achieving Diabetes Remission<\/h4>\n

Hemoglobin A1c \u2014also referred to as HbA1c or just A1c \u2014 is a naturally occurring molecule that forms when blood sugar interacts with hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying part of red blood cells).<\/p>\n

We all have some HbA1c, but people with higher blood sugar levels have more. Doctors use it as a reliable way to tell your average blood sugar over the last 3 months. Normal HbA1c is below 5.7%, while over 6.5% indicates diabetes.<\/p>\n

A sustained and gradual reduction of A1c levels occurred in the patients treated with TTh, decreasing by a total of 3.4% by the end of the study. Over 80% of the TTh patients reached their A1c goal of 6.5% with 34.3% reaching the point of being considered \u201cin remission,” meaning maintaining normal blood sugar even after stopping all diabetes medications.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the patients in the control group experienced a gradual increase in A1c by an average of 3.3% over the course of the study period. A whopping zero control patients achieved remission of their diabetes.<\/p>\n

Effects on Just About Everything Else<\/h4>\n

Not to sound Pollyanna-ish, but the study results show that testosterone therapy improved just about every major marker and measurement that researchers included. And there were a lot.<\/p>\n

Patients given TTh experienced significant reductions in:<\/p>\n