Experience with testosterone replacement in the elderly.

Abstract

To date, most of the studies of androgen replacement have been done with healthy older men (age > or = 55 years), and almost no data are available for frail elderly individuals. Treatment effects that make a relatively small difference in younger, more robust individuals may have a greater effect on the elderly, whose improvement in functioning and level of activity may be more dramatic. However, the frail elderly individual is also more vulnerable to adverse effects from treatment, and these potential risks and benefits must be weighed.