Male Menopause?

We haven't heard it, we haven't thought about it, but the truth is that male menopause does occur and affects more than five million men. While women are taught to believe this hormone-change ability happens to only them as they hit a certain age, new studies contradict that by finding that men also live through it as well. These hormone-changes result in symptoms including fatigue, mood swings, decreased desire for sex, hair loss, lack of concentration and weight gain. However, the number of five million men that it is proved to occur in, is now feared to be much larger as these symptoms are often misunderstood or ignored. Biologically known as male hypogonadism, takes place when the testicles do not produce the needed amount of testosterone, which is key in providing masculine growth and development. And as hormone levels drop by the coming of age, men begin to experience the menopause symptoms. Robert Brannigan, MD, urologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said "This is a highly prevalent disorder. Unfortunately, we estimate that 95 percent of cases are undiagnosed and therefore untreated. When ignored, symptoms can seriously disrupt one's quality of life." He also adds "In females, ovulation comes to an end and hormone production declines in a relatively quick period of time, whereas men experience hormone shifts more slowly, with testosterone levels dropping around one percent each year beginning in a man's late thirties." Male hypogonadism is usually tested through a simple blood test. All in all, everyone should become more aware of this because it is just as serious in men as it is in women.

The human body is very very complex. Everyone is learning new things every day. New experiments, studies, ideas are brought up every day as well. Therefore, this is just another new finding in the book of human complexions. Diseases, disorders, anything similar to that, all have a major role in biology, the study of life. As humans go on though life, it is the job of biology to discover new things about us and our life constantly. And so, this article shows a new experiment on what seems to be a newly found disorder in this specific gender. It plays a key role on both biology/science and the human life, and we should all be informed on it, it's a win win.

So what? This article can not only affect the five million men that are proved to be diagnosed, but also their families. Maybe now it's time to talk to your father, or husband and inform them about this. Or maybe you've just realized that they're experiencing those symptoms. Just like women menopause, and other countless disorders in the world, this is just a new discovery, and only the beginning of new teachings.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100820115050.htm