Forget HRT

HRT, or hormone replacement therapy, has traditionally referred to estrogen replacement therapy in women going through menopause. As you have probably heard, estrogen has fallen out of favor for menopausal symptoms because of estrogen's association with blood clots, stroke, and breast cancer.

Now, testosterone is now taking a hit, according to a study from the Mayo Clinic (ABC). What were the important clinical questions that they wanted to answer: In 150 people over 60 years old, does testosterone replacement therapy slow the aging process and does testosterone replacement increase libido?

At the end of two years, the hormone-taking men and women did have increased levels of sex hormones in their blood compared with those who had received fake pills or fake patches. But these hormone increases didn't make the volunteers any younger, as the supplement industry often promises.

"We found no difference in quality of life, including sex drive," said Dr. Sree Nair, lead author and professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic.

Uh, I'm thinking that this is really interesting to know, but maybe I don't want to know how they conducted this study. It's kind of like TMI, or too much information. I can kind of just see a bunch of Alfred Kinsey wannabes flying around the Mayo Clinic with clipboards and questionnaires. Kind of amusing to think about actually.