https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...-Boosts-Libido-in-Men-on-Testosterone-Therapy
From the paper:
Elevated Serum Estradiol Is Associated with Higher Libido in Men on Testosterone Supplementation Therapy
Testosterone has always been considered to be a male hormone, whereas oestrogen has typically been discussed in the context of being a female hormone. Conventionally, the goal of testosterone supplementation therapy (TST) in men was to raise serum testosterone levels and lower oestrogen levels. A recent study by Finkelstein et al. high- lighted an important role for oestrogen in regulation of sexual function in men on TST [1]. In that study, dramatic declines in libido were observed in conjunction with decreased levels of serum oestrogen. Although oestrogen is associated with male sexual behaviour [2], the distinct roles of testosterone and oestrogen on sexual function in men on TST are controversial. We thus sought to elucidate the associations between serum testosterone, estradiol, and libido in men undergoing TST for symptomatic hypogonadism (total testosterone <300 ng/dl and three or more symptoms on the Androgen Decline in Aging Male [ADAM] questionnaire).
Men on TST (injections or gels; n = 423) presenting to a large-volume, tertiary referral andrology clinic were asked to rate the quality of their libido using 5-point Likert scales (1 = terrible, 5 = excellent) as part of the validated, quanti- tative ADAM questionnaire [3]. Men were categorised as having low (0.5–5.0 ng/dl) or high (>5.0 ng/dl) estradiol
Univariate analysis noted associations between libido and age, and FSH, LH (analysed as continuous variables), estradiol, and testosterone levels (analysed as categorical variables, and which remained significant even when analysed as continuous variables) (Table 1).
Interestingly, on multivariate analysis, only estradiol at serum levels >5 ng/dl (2.13; p = 0.04) was associated with greater libido.
While this study highlights the importance of oestrogen in men on TST, the limitations include a lack of control group and no score comparisons before and after com- mencement of TST. Furthermore, a larger sample size may have unmasked a confounding relationship between testosterone and libido.
