[FONT="]New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Vienna, Austria (23-26) May shows that weight reduction following a sleeve gastrectomy (obesity surgery), which reduces the size of the stomach, can rapidly reverse obesity-related hypogonadism in morbidly obese men, restoring normal levels of testosterone and sex drive. The study was conducted by Prof Marco Rossato and colleagues at the University of Padova, Italy. [/FONT][FONT="]he authors selected a group of 29 obese men with an average age of 40.5 years and an average body mass index (BMI) of 43.4kg/m2 (morbidly obese is defined as >40kg/m2). [/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT][FONT="]One month after the sleeve gastrectomy, obese subjects showed a significant weight reduction, averaging 17.2 kg and the proportion with hypogonadism had fallen to 11.6%. Average testosterone levels increased by 85%, to a level greater than that observed in the healthy control group (18.9 vs 15.7 nmol/L). Estradiol levels fell by 35% while PSA levels rose by 70%.
The study demonstrates that while obese males show an elevated prevalence of hypogonadism, this is rapidly reversed (within one month) after significant weight loss following bariatric surgery. Testosterone levels are increased significantly while estradiol levels fall due to the rapid and significant loss of fat mass and the consequent decrease in aromatization of androgens to estrogens that typically occur in adipose tissue.
