Anabolic and Inflammatory Responses to Short-Term Testosterone Administration in Older Men

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2015-12-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: Male

Summary

Skeletal muscle loss is a common consequence of aging and in some individuals reaches a level that compromises health and quality of life. Age-associated increases in cytokine and inflammatory signaling may be important contributors to this process.

The investigators will assess the practical question of whether testosterone injection and gel application elicit similar responses. Resistance exercise will be used as a means of stimulating both inflammatory and anabolic responses in skeletal muscle. In order to assess the effects of testosterone on these responses, subjects will perform resistance exercise on two occasions separated by 7 days. The first session will be performed prior to the initiation of testosterone and/or medrol therapy and the second session will be performed after receiving therapy for 7 days.

• Phase: Phase 4
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
• Treatments: Methylprednisolone; Methylprednisolone Acetate; Methylprednisolone Hemisuccinate; Methyltestosterone; Prednisolone; Prednisolone acetate; Prednisolone hemisuccinate; Prednisolone phosphate; Testosterone; Testosterone 17 beta-cypionate; Testosterone enanthate; Testosterone undecanoate

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age: 60-85

• Gender: Male

Exclusion Criteria:

• Exclusionary medications will be an anticoagulant (Coumadin) because of the risk of bleeding during the biopsy procedure. Additional medications which will be disallowed for participation include: anabolic steroids, nitrates, antihistamines, and glucocorticoids.

• The subjects must be able to successfully complete an exercise stress test using the Bruce protocol . Subjects will be excluded without exercise testing, with a history of angina that occurs with exertion or at rest, or a myocardial infarction within the last 12 months. Subjects that demonstrate ³0.1 milliVolts (mV) horizontal or downsloping ST segment depression, a drop in systolic blood pressure of ³10 mm Hg, and/or frequent or repetitive arrhythmias (defined as ³10 premature ventricular contractions (PVC)/min, or couplets) during the stress test will be excluded.

• Subjects with LDL cholesterol above 200 mg/dL will be excluded .

• Any man with a history of breast cancer or prostate cancer, or any indication of an occult carcinoma from an elevation of prostate specific antigen (PSA) above 4.0 mg/L (53), or severe benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) by history (frequent urination, reduced stream) will be excluded.

• Subjects with liver dysfunction evidenced by a history of hepatitis B or hepatitis C, or by a three-fold elevation of liver enzymes (Alk phos, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate amino-transferase (AST) above normal on screening will be excluded from the study.

• Any subject with a blood pressure on three consecutive measurements taken at one week intervals that has a systolic pressure ³ 140 or a diastolic blood pressure ³ 90 will be excluded.

• Any subject who has a major medical illness such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or sleep apnea will be excluded. Moreover, subjects will not have a recent history of smoking tobacco. Morbidly obese older men (BMI > 35) will also be excluded.

• Subjects will evidence of kidney disease (serum creatinine > 2.0mg/dl) will be excluded from participation.

• Any subject with thyroid disease as determined by an abnormal thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level will be excluded from participation.

• Any subject testing positive for HIV will be excluded .

• Allergy to iodine, a component of Betadine which is used to prepare the subject's skin for invasive procedures, will be cause for exclusion from this study.

• Men with serum total testosterone concentrations greater than 500 ng/dL will be excluded.

• Subjects who engage in high intensity resistance training on a regular basis will be excluded.

• Subjects with a known coagulation disorder or with clinical evidence indicative of a bleeding disorder (easy bruising, "free bleeders") will not be enrolled in this study due to potential problems that could arise from muscle biopsy procedures.