New energy for aging men

Men do not have menopause. Their hormone production does not stop all at once, but decreases gradually from their twenties onwards at an average rate of 1% yearly. When the average man retires, he has lost about half of his hormone production. This is not unimportant. The male sex hormone, testosterone, is crucial to sexual behaviour, mood, the ability to concentrate, memory, muscle strength, and the feeling of physical well being. Negative changes in these areas combined with a lowered hormone production falls under the umbrella of the poorly coined term; andropause. It is an increasing problem; there are more and more aging men.
The solution to this problem for a man with severe symptoms is naturally testosterone. But does one do if the symptoms are not so severe? Testosterone should not be used indiscriminately. It affects the prostate and can theoretically increase prostate growth. Men, like women, can have problems with hormone supplements.
But maybe there is salvation. Studies from later years indicate that the simple, physiologic, substance, carnitine, helps with all of the symptoms. Carnitine is necessary for the metabolism of fat and therefore the production of energy. Normally the daily requirement is partially supplied by the diet (milk products and meat) and partially supplied by the body’s energy production (a process which requires vitamins B and C).
That carnitine actually helps reduce andropause symptoms has been illustrated by an Italian randomised study form 2004. In this study, half of a group of 120 men received a supplement of carnitine while the rest received high doses of testosterone (120 mg testosterone-undecanoate (Restandiol ®) per day). The men were physically healthy. They were non-smokers in their mid 60’s. They did suffer from tiredness, mild depression, decreased libido, and erectile dysfunction.
Three positive studies
The study lasted a half year. It showed with certainty that both carnitine and testosterone helped with the tiredness, moods, and sexual function. For example, they could directly measure an improvement in the blood flow to the penis. Surprisingly, the results showed that carnitine actually worked better than the testosterone on the moods, erectile strength, and general satisfaction with sex function.
Another study showed something similar. Diabetics who did could not achieve erection after at least eight attempts with Viagra were the study group in this study. It was also a randomised study. It showed that a combination of Viagra (50 mg twice per week) with carnitine was effective for three out of four of the participants. If only Viagra was used, only half as many experienced a good effect.
A third study attempted to treat men who had become impotent due to the removal of their prostates because of cancer. Placebo had no effect. Viagra (100 mg taken when needed) was effective in helping the half of the men achieve satisfying intercourse. But a combination of Viagra and carnitine was the most effective, helping almost all of the study participants (28 out of 32).
This indicates to a high degree that this completely natural substance can help many aging men. Carnitine is not dangerous, but why does it work?
Part of the explanation is probably that many aging men have an authentic lack of the substance. Sex hormones stimulate the organism’s creation of carnitine. Under sex hormone deficiency, carnitine production decreases. This should cause problems, even though it is not the whole explanation.
We can only guess at the precise connection between carnitine and increased penile blood flow. There is also lacking knowledge is how much carnitine we can tolerate in the long run. In the mentioned studies, the researchers used four gr. (2 x 2) per day. It seems as though this is risk free, but if you are careful it would be wise to consider that there is only documentation that half this dose is safe.
References.
1. Cavallini G. et al. Carnitine versus androgen administration in the treatment of sexual dysfunction, depressed mood, and fatigue associated with male aging. Urology. 2004 Apr;63(4):641-6
2. Cavallini G et al. Acetyl-L-carnitine plus propionyl-L-carnitine improve efficacy of sildenafil in treatment of erectile dysfunction after bilateral nerve-sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy. Urology. 2005 Nov;66(5):1080-5
3. Gentile V, et al. Preliminary observations on the use of propionyl-L-carnitine in combination with sildenafil in patients with erectile dysfunction and diabetes. Curr Med Res Opin. 2004 Sep;20(9):1377-84.
Department of Urology U Bracci, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
4. Mooradian AD et al. Management of the cardinal features of andropause. Am J Ther. 2006 Mar-Apr;13(2):145-60.
5. Hathcock JN, Risk assessment for carnitine. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2006 Oct;46(1):23-8. Epub 2006 Aug 9