According to a study, testosterone replacement therapy may slow the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) .COPD is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. It is predicted by the World Organisation to be the third-leading cause of illness and death internationally by 2030. Low testosterone is common in men with COPD and may worsen their condition. Men with COPD have shortness of breath and often take steroid-based medications for an extended time, both of which increase their risk of low testosterone.
“Previous studies have suggested that testosterone replacement therapy may have a positive effect on lung function in men with COPD,” said Jacques Baillargeon of The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.The goal of the study was to find out whether testosterone replacement therapy reduced the risk of respiratory hospitalisations in middle-aged and older men with COPD.”We found that testosterone users had a greater decrease in respiratory hospitalisations compared with non-users. Specifically , middle-aged testosterone replacement therapy users had a 4.2 percent greater decrease in respiratory hospitalizations compared with non-users and older testosterone replacement therapy users had a 9.1 percent greater decrease in respiratory hospitalizations compared with non-users,” said Baillargeon. “The findings suggest that testosterone replacement therapy may slow the progression of disease in men with COPD,” he added.The tissue of the lungs can be affected by a number of diseases, including pneumonia and lung cancer. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease includes chronic bronchitis and previously termed emphysema, can be related to smoking or exposure to harmful substances such as coal dust, asbestos fibres and crystalline silica dust. Diseases such as bronchitis can also affect the respiratory tract. The lungs have a unique blood supply, receiving deoxygenated blood from the heart in the pulmonary circulation for the purposes of receiving oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide, and a separate supply of oxygenated blood to the tissue of the lungs, in the bronchial circulation.The study appears in the journal Chronic Respiratory Disease. Lung diseases are some of the most common medical conditions in the world. Tens of millions of people suffer from lung disease in the U.S. Smoking, infections, and genetics are responsible for most lung diseases.
The lungs are part of a complex apparatus, expanding and relaxing thousands of times each day to bring in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Lung disease can result from problems in any part of this system.
The trachea (windpipe) branches into tubes called bronchi, which in turn branch to become progressively smaller tubes throughout the lungs.The airways eventually branch into tiny tubes (bronchioles) that dead-end into clusters of air sacs called alveoli. These air sacs make up most of the lung tissue.
