Testosterone Therapy: Benefits & Risks in Children

Testosterone therapy has long been used by adults in a variety of applications. The use of testosterone therapy in children, especially young boys, is more controversial. While the therapy seems to have some positive side effects in boys with developmental disorders, there exists concern over whether the therapy will hurt the boys in the long run.

Use of Testosterone Therapy

• Testosterone is a hormone that, in healthy men, produces the characteristics that make men unique. It develops their masculine features and genitals, helps their voices to change and keeps hair growing on their faces. Men with testosterone deficiency have used testosterone therapy to increase muscle mass, aid in bone growth and maintain a healthy libido. The therapy is especially popular among men who are recovering from testicular or prostate cancer, as well as individuals who suffer from erectile dysfunction. In spite of these more common uses, testosterone therapy also has a wide variety of additional applications.

Benefits of Use in Children

• According to the New England Journal of Medicine, testosterone therapy is seen as a remedy of sorts to help boys who are experiencing developmental disorders. Children experiencing constitutional delay of growth and puberty or those suffering from greatly diminished genital size at birth due to a rare condition known as neonatal testicular torsion, have been tested with hormone therapy. Pre-puberty treatment using prolonged testosterone stimulation was used on the latter group as they grew, resulting in greater penis length. Low doses of testosterone also helped boys with constitutional delay of growth, resulting in pronounced craniofacial growth and shorter puberty periods, suggesting testosterone is of great benefit in lower levels.

Risks of Use in Children

• While known risks of testosterone therapy in children are few due to the low levels of testosterone used, Consumer Med Safety reports that children who accidentally receive higher doses of testosterone are at a great risk for abnormal development. The overexposure of testosterone in prepubescent boys may result in early puberty and development of inappropriate sexual characteristics at a very early age. Liver toxicity and eventual infertility in children given high levels of testosterone may occur as well. Pre-teens who undergo testosterone therapy can expect side effects such as fluid retention, sleep problems and polycythemia, a condition in which your body produces an excess of red blood cells. Polycythemia may cause headaches, difficulty breathing and dizziness.