Sources of Testosterone

Both men and women produce testosterone, a hormone responsible for normal male sexual development. An overproduction of this hormone can result from an abnormality, and although doctors use synthetic testosterone to treat hypogonadism, its use can cause detrimental side effects.

Identification

• Testosterone is a naturally occurring steroid hormone that the body synthesizes from cholesterol. The testes of men, ovaries of women and adrenal glands of both sexes produce testosterone in varying amounts.

Function

• Testosterone exerts anabolic effects that increase muscle growth and improve bone density. In men, this hormone produces sperm and exerts androgenic effects, such as a deepened voice, male-pattern baldness and facial hair.

Benefits

• Doctors can prescribe synthetic testosterone to treat age-related hypogonadism, which is a deficiency in a man's natural production of testosterone. As part of hormone replacement therapy, synthetic testosterone helps treat erectile dysfunction, lessened libido, and a decline in mental and physical well-being.

Complications

• The ovaries typically produce very little testosterone; however, a woman suffering from ovarian cancer or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) will produce excess testosterone. Also, an enlargement of the adrenal gland cortex called adrenal hyperplasia can result from a tumor and cause excess testosterone production in both sexes.

Warning

• Men suffering from prostate cancer or male breast cancer should not take synthetic testosterone, and patients with diabetes or pre-existing heart disease should consult a doctor before using this hormone.

  Athletes taking excess testosterone to improve performance can experience elevated liver and blood serum cholesterol levels, which may lead to congestive heart failure, stroke, clotting problems and coronary artery disease.