Saliva Testing at Access Medical Laboratories

ANDROPAUSE SALIVA TESTING

ANDROPAUSE PANEL: TESTOSTERONE DHT DHEA MELATONIN CORTISOL

At Access Medical Labs our Andropause saliva tests help indicate if your hormonal levels are at its prime. In men a decrease of hormonal levels such as testosterone begin to occur around the age of 35 meaning they have entered their first stages of Andropause, the male equivalent of female Menopause. Knowing your hormone levels is key in knowing if Hormone Replacement Therapy is right for you.

What is Andropause?

The impact of decreasing androgen's is known as andropause, also called "male menopause" or PADAM: Partial Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male. It is a normal part of aging, although for some men, it is accompanied by a gradual and undesired decline in their sexuality, mood and overall energy. Sometimes it can even expose men to more serious health risks.

By the time men are between the ages of 40 and 55, they can experience a phenomenon similar to the female menopause, called andropause. As with women, andropause in males begins at a time when life often offers some of its greatest rewards. But unlike women, men do not have a clear-cut signpost such as the cessation of menstruation to mark this transition. Andropausal body changes occur very gradually in men and may be accompanied by changes in attitudes and moods, fatigue, a loss of energy, sex drive and physical agility.

What's more, studies show that the decline in testosterone during andropause can actually put one at risk for other health problems like heart disease and weak bones. Since all this happens at a time of life when many men begin to question their values, accomplishments and direction in life, it's often difficult to realize that the changes occurring are related to more than just external conditions. Attitude, psychological stress, alcohol, injuries or surgery, medications, obesity and infections can contribute to its onset.

Although with age, a decline in testosterone levels will occur in virtually all men, there is no way of predicting who will experience andropausal symptoms of sufficient severity to seek medical help. Neither is it predictable at what age symptoms will occur in a particular individual. Each man's symptoms may be also different.

The condition of male menopause (andropause) is caused by a decline in hormones. For men ,those hormones are testosterone, thyroid, human growth hormone (HGH) and DHEA. Male hormones start to decline in the mid-twenties and effects can usually be felt by age 35. Every man will become andropausal, ire. no one escapes it. Andropause symptoms can be easily corrected by replacing lost hormones. Your doctor in consultation with you will determine if, and the extent of need for hormone treatment.

Did You Know: 4 out of 5 men ages 35+ have low testosterone symptoms.

RESOURCES:

1. Mooradian AD, Korenman SG (2006). "Management of the cardinal features of andropause". Am J Ther 13 (2): 145­60. doi:10.1097/01.mjt.0000132252.80403.c9. PMID 16645432. http://meta.wkhealth.com/pt/pt-core/template-journal/lwwgateway/media/landingpage.htm?an=00045391-200603000-00011.

2. ^ Heller, C.G., Myers, G.B., ³The Male climacteric: Its symptomatology, diagnosis and treatment.² JAMA 1944; 126:472-77.

3. ^ Fuller SJ, Tan RS, Martins RN (2007). "Androgens in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease in aging men and possible therapeutic interventions". J. Alzheimers Dis. 12 (2): 129­42. PMID 17917157. http://iospress.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=1387-2877&volume=12&issue=2&spage=129.