Private MD News

Testosterone linked to protection from inflammation

Category: Hormones and Metabolism

Both men and women may benefit from testosterone testing, as new research published in the FASEB Journal indicates that the hormone plays an important role in fighting inflammation and its associated diseases.

Doctors have long noted that men are less likely to suffer from conditions like arthritis, psoriasis and asthma, which are generally thought of as being inflammation related. However, there was no explanation for why this is. The new findings suggest that the situation may be a result of lower testosterone levels in women.

For the study, researchers from Friedrich Schiller University in Germany exposed both male and female tissue to inflammatory immune system cells. In general, the female tissue and samples taken from men with low testosterone had stronger inflammatory responses.

Given the fact that the only difference between the samples was testosterone, the researchers concluded that the hormone was responsible for the association.

The researchers said that testosterone testing and treatment could eventually lead to improved therapies for inflammatory conditions that could be useful for both men and women.