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Suplementos de gel de testosterona
para hombres con depresión refractaria
(31/03/2003) El estudio se llevó a cabo
a partir de una muestra inicial de 56 hombres entre 30 y 65 años
con depresión refractaria y niveles de testosterona bajos
o en el límite de la normalidad, de los que participaron
12 a los que se les administró el gel de testosterona y a
otros 10 un placebo de aspecto identico.Finalmente el ensayo de
8 semanas fue completado por 10 pacientes con gel de testosterona
y por 9 con el placebo.
Los resultados obtenidos indicaron que los pacientes
que recibieron gel de testosterona tuvieron una mejoría significativamente
mayor que los sujetos que recibieron el placebo.
Para acceder al texto completo es necesario suscribirse
en la revista ajp.psychiatryonline.org/
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Testosterone supplementation may produce antidepressant
effects in men, but until recently it has required cumbersome parenteral
administration. In an 8-week randomized, placebo-controlled trial,
the authors administered a testosterone transdermal gel to men aged
30-65 who had refractory depression and low or borderline testosterone
levels.
METHOD:
Of 56 men screened, 24 (42.9%) displayed morning
serum total testosterone levels of 350 ng/dl or less (normal range=270-1070).
Of these men, 23 entered the study. One responded to an initial
1-week single-blind placebo period, and 22 were subsequently randomly
assigned: 12 to 1% testosterone gel, 10 g/day, and 10 to identical-appearing
placebo. Each subject continued his existing antidepressant regimen.
Ten subjects receiving testosterone and nine receiving placebo completed
the 8-week trial.
RESULTS:
The groups were closely matched on baseline demographic
and psychiatric measures. Subjects receiving testosterone gel had
significantly greater improvement in scores on the Hamilton Depression
Rating Scale than subjects receiving placebo. These changes were
noted on both the vegetative and affective subscales of the Hamilton
Depression Rating Scale. A significant difference was also found
on the Clinical Global Impression severity scale but not the Beck
Depression Inventory. One subject assigned to testosterone reported
increased difficulty with urination, suggesting an exacerbation
of benign prostatic hyperplasia; no other subject reported adverse
events apparently attributable to testosterone.
CONCLUSIONS:
These preliminary findings suggest that testosterone
gel may produce antidepressant effects in the large and probably
underrecognized population of depressed men with low testosterone
levels.
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