| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: atraish{at}bu.edu.
The Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is considered the most important public health threat of the 21st Century. This syndrome is characterized by a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors including increased central abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides (TG), reduced HDL-cholesterol, high blood pressure, increased fasting glucose, and hyper-insulinemia. These factors increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and/or type-2 diabetes. While the etiology of this syndrome is thought to stem from obesity and physical inactivity, the extent of interactions of the individual MetS components with one another remains poorly defined. Obesity, diabetes, hypogonadism, and specific hormone and metabolic profiles have been implicated in the pathophysiology of CVD. The evolving role of androgens in MetS and CVD is of paramount importance. Reduced androgen levels associated with aging or androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) increase cardiovascular risk factors and produce marked adverse effects on cardiovascular function. The MetS has been associated with hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction (ED), and MetS may be considered a risk factor for ED. It is suggested that MetS, diabetes, and CVD will increase in the upcoming decades. Thus, it is critically important to develop a better understanding of how obesity, diabetes and hypogonadism contribute to androgen deficiency and the various pathophysiological states of vascular disease (VD). In this review we discuss the current literature pertaining to androgen deficiency, the MetS and ED, as the relationship of these factors are of scientific and clinical importance. Specifically we will focus on exploring the relationships between hypogonadism, obesity, MetS, and ED.
Key words: Androgen •
Andropause •
Erectile Dysfunction •
Hormone •
Prostate •
Diabetes •
Insulin Resistance •
Metabolic Syndrome •
Vascular Disease
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  F Ermetici, F Donadio, L Iorio, A E Malavazos, A Dolci, E Peverelli, A M Barbieri, L Morricone, I Chiodini, M Arosio, et al. Peripheral insulin-like factor 3 concentrations are reduced in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus: effect of glycemic control and visceral adiposity on Leydig cell function Eur. J. Endocrinol., December 1, 2009; 161(6): 853 - 859. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. M. Traish, F. Saad, R. J. Feeley, and A. Guay The Dark Side of Testosterone Deficiency: III. Cardiovascular Disease J Androl, September 1, 2009; 30(5): 477 - 494. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. T. Guay The Emerging Link Between Hypogonadism and Metabolic Syndrome J Androl, July 1, 2009; 30(4): 370 - 376. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. M. Traish, F. Saad, and A. Guay The Dark Side of Testosterone Deficiency: II. Type 2 Diabetes and Insulin Resistance J Androl, January 1, 2009; 30(1): 23 - 32. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
