CORRECTION OF ANDROGEN DEFICIENCY IN MEN WITH HYPOTHYROIDISM.

The percentage of men with low and subnormal blood testosterone levels (less than 12 nmol/l) is increasing with age. The injection form of testosterone undecanoate (TU) represents the first long-acting injectable testosterone medication with a satisfactory safety profile, which is administered 4 times a year, does not lead to supraphysiological increases in testosterone blood levels, with the achievement of its stable levels. The aim is to investigate the effectiveness of therapy with testosterone undecanoate in patients with hypothyroidism and androgen deficiency. Patients with hypothyroidism were divided into two subgroups depending on the prescribed TU. 26 men in the first group received four intramuscular injections of 4 ml of TU oil solution (1000 mg): the interval between the first and second injections was 6 weeks, the following two injections were made after 12 weeks each. Laboratory tests for measuring serum levels of total testosterone andluteinizing hormone (LH) after the second, third and fourth injections (2-2.5 months after the previous injection). The average total testosterone level in the blood of patients before the start of treatment was significantly lower than that of the control group.On the background of substitution therapy with testosterone, stabilization of the level of total testosterone at the reference levels in the blood of men with hypothyroidism was observed in 9 months of follow-up compared with the indicator before treatment.The average level of LH in the blood of patients with hypothyroidism and androgen deficiency did not significantly differ from that of the control group. There was no significant difference in changes of mean LH levels in the treatment regimen compared to the control group. The use of long-acting injectable long-term TU results in the normalization of total testosterone levels in men with hypothyroidism and androgen deficiency.