Treatment for late-onset hypogonadism: the current situation in Japan

Prevention of age-related disability has become very important because the number of people aged 60 years and older is increasing rapidly. Androgen levels decrease with aging and this plays many physiologic roles in various organs. Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) has received widespread attention in the last few years. LOH symptoms include sexual dysfunction and depression, and the first-line treatment should be hormone replacement therapy (HRT), by which several symptoms of LOH are improved. Although several types of testosterone preparations are available worldwide, the testosterone preparations available in Japan are limited. For this reason, the Clinical Practice Manual for LOH, authored by a collaborative team from the Japanese Urological Association and the Japanese Society for the Study of the Aging Male, recommends HRT with testosterone enanthate, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and 'Glowmin', a short-acting testosterone ointment produced in Japan. In this review, we summarize the efficacy of HRT for LOH symptoms and introduce hCG and Glowmin therapy according to the Clinical Practice Manual. However, several studies, including our own, have shown that LOH symptoms are not always related to serum testosterone concentration. Thus, HRT is not adequate as the only treatment option for LOH because eugonadal men with symptoms of LOH comprise 30% of the general population. We discuss the efficacy of Japanese herbal medicines, which have been used for treatment of the menopause and several psychological disorders, particularly in the treatment of eugonadal patients with symptoms of LOH.