A biological perspective for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by testosterone

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is mainly characterized by a chronically poor airflow that worsens over time. COPD is believed to be a bio-pathological entity with unclear boundaries that affects the rest of the body through various pathophysiological mechanisms. There have been recent discussions regarding the possible relevance of various hormones such testosterone in the management of COPD. In our paper, we decided to study this possible relevance by comparing the levels of testosterone in COPD patients with an age-matched control group in order to see if testosterone levels may act as an important parameter for the functional disability and deterioration in the management of COPD. Our analysis showed a significant decrease (p=0.001) in the specific concentrations of testosterone in the serum of the COPD group, as compared to the control. Although our results suggest that testosterone is in fact decreased in COPD, there is still an absence of sufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions about its long-term benefits and risks in the management in COPD.

Keywords

• testosterone
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• management