The data, presented at the 88th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, highlights the potential of this marker, but the company said that more research is needed to evaluate benefits of testosterone replacement therapy in type 2 diabetes patients who have low testosterone.
In a comparison of type 2 diabetes patients with and without hypogonadism, defined by total testosterone levels less than 300ng/dL, researchers found that HDL (‘good’ cholesterol) levels were significantly lower in patients with hypogonadism, and that triglyceride and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were significantly higher in patients with hypogonadism.
Given the known risk these markers have on cardiovascular disease and the apparent prevalence in association with hypogonadism, the findings reported here warrant further investigation into the potential benefit testosterone replacement therapy can have on patients with type 2 diabetes.
“The correlation of significantly lower HDL levels and significantly higher triglyceride levels and higher CRP in hypogonadal patients raises the issue of the potential importance of androgen concentrations in regulating these cardiac risk factors,” said Dr Marc Rendell, of Creighton Diabetes Center. “This data suggests that it is important to assess testosterone levels as an integral part of the evaluation of male diabetes patients and to treat low levels.”