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Monica
Monica

Monica

Medical Writer & Nutritionist

MSc Nutrition

University of Stockholm & Karolinska Institute, Sweden 

   Baylor University, TX, USA

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How is anabolic steroid use different from testosterone replacement therapy?

One main reason testosterone replacement therapy (aka testosterone treatment) is surrounded by controversy is that testosterone can be abused, both in athletic populations and the general public.[1] Scientific evidence is undisputed that testosterone y potently enhances physical performance and increases muscle growth.[1-3]
 
The ethical issue of fair play in sports, coupled with the well-known adverse health effects of supra-physiological doses of anabolic steroids [4-14], has given medically legit testosterone replacement therapy (aka TRT, testosterone therapy or testosterone treatment) a bad reputation and is depriving many suffering men with testosterone deficiency from receiving medically needed testosterone treatment.[15] 
 
In this article I will point out the salient differences between use testosterone replacement therapy – a.k.a. testosterone therapy or testosterone treatment - and abuse of anabolic steroids, and explain why testosterone treatment - which per definition is medically provided and supervised - has no parallel with abuse of anabolic steroids.
 

Dispelling the myth of testosterone treatment and prostate cancer

 
Fear of prostate cancer remains one of the major concerns with testosterone therapy among doctors, and reason to deny suffering hypogonadal men testosterone treatment.[1, 2]
 
This fear persists despite mounting research over the past decade that has clearly refuted the belief that testosterone therapy increased risk of prostate cancer among men in the general population.[3-5]
 
Aside prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with its associated lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are also common concerns with testosterone therapy.[6]
 
In this article I summarize and comment on the results of the Registry of Hypogonadism in Men (RHYME) study; a large, multi-national prospective registry of men with testosterone deficiency, which was designed and powered specifically to assess prostate cancer outcomes in hypogonadal men receiving testosterone therapy compared with untreated hypogonadal men or general population estimates.[7]-