FRIDAY, Dec. 19 (HealthDay News) -- In men with hypogonadism, intramuscular injection of long-acting testosterone undecanoate results in a sustained, consistent serum testosterone in the normal range, researchers report in the December issue of the Journal of Urology.
Abraham Morgentaler, M.D., of Men's Health Boston in Brookline, Mass., and colleagues conducted a 24-week trial in which 130 patients (mean age 54.2) with a serum total testosterone less than 300 ng/dL received 750-milligram injections of testosterone undecanoate at baseline, and at weeks four and 14.
After the week 14 injection, the researchers found that mean average serum testosterone increased to 494.9 ng/dL and that mean maximum serum testosterone increased to 890.6 ng/dL. They observed that 94 percent of the subjects achieved a mean concentration within the young healthy adult male range (300-1,000 ng/dL). From baseline to 24 weeks, mean hematocrit, hemoglobin and prostate specific antigen increased (from 43.3 percent to 45.7 percent, from 14.6 gm/dL to 15.5 gm/dL, and from 1.0 ng/mL to 1.3 ng/mL, respectively). But the researchers observed no prostate cancer or gynecomastia during the study period.
"This long-acting testosterone therapy option extends the maximum treatment dosing interval beyond that of available injectable testosterone therapies and provides a potentially appealing alternative to the daily application of transdermal gels or patches," the authors conclude. "Testosterone undecanoate (750 mg) appears to be a safe, well tolerated and convenient treatment option in men with hypogonadism."
Several of the study authors disclosed financial interests with pharmaceutical companies.
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