Androgen replacement therapy in women

Abstract

Androgen therapy in women is an emerging fi eld in endocrinology, with continuous advances in clinical research, steroid measurement and analysis and development of new ways and types of androgen treatment. In the following sections, the authors aim to review current knowledge and new developments in this fi eld. Physiology

Involvement of androgens in ovarian health and disease

“…The guidelines published by the Endocrine Society in 2006 recommend against making a diagnosis of androgen deficiency in women with normal adrenal function because of the lack of a clearly defined clinical syndrome, and of normative data on testosterone levels across women's lifespan that can be used to define the disorder (Wierman et al, 2006). Given recent publications and developments, it may be time to revisit this guidance, considering the development of mass-spectrometry-based highly sensitive testosterone assays, the availability of satisfactory forms of androgen administration and emerging data on short-term safety data on androgen replacement in women (for review, see Marie Lebbe, 2012).…”

Highly efficient, solvent-free esterification of testosterone promoted by a recyclable polymer-supported tosylic acid catalyst under microwave irradiation

“…The reactions were completed in 24 h time span, and the acylated products 2a-e were isolated in the range of 41-87% yield and purity >95% in accordance with HPLC analysis (Table 1). The assigned structures of the obtained esters 2a-e were established from their spectral properties ( 1 H and 13 C NMR, HRMS, IR and UV-VIS), melting point characteristic, specific rotation values and finally by comparison with the available literature data. It is also worth to note that the reactions based on a classical Et 3 N/DMAP catalytic system mostly proceeded very cleanly without the formation of isomerization byproducts.…”

“…UV spectra were measured with Cary 3 spectrometer; samples were dissolved in absolute EtOH. 1 H NMR (500 MHz) and 13 Microwave heating was performed in a single-mode microwave reactor (CEM Discover LabMate) equipped with a calibrated infrared (IR) temperature sensor using closed-vessel setting.…”

“…Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version and contains copies of 1 H and 13 C NMR, HRMS, IR and UV/VIS spectra as well as HPLC chromatograms.…”

“…1 Therefore, testosterone provides a key starting material for various active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) of many registered drugs, which are most often used to treat a variety of endocrine disorders, such as male hypogonadism (hypoandrogenism) [2][3][4] and hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women (HSDD). [5][6][7][8] While testosterone constitutes a prominent example of an anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) substance, it is also utilized for distinct androgen-requiring therapies along with male-hormone replacement therapy (M-HRT), [9][10][11] female androgen deficiency syndrome (FAIS) therapy, [12][13][14][15] and the masculinizing hormone therapy. 16,17 Moreover, various novel testosterone derivatives have been proven beneficial for successful treatments of other diseases including certain types of carcinoma (especially breast and prostate cancers), [18][19][20] anemia, 21,22 muscular dystrophies [23][24][25] and osteoporosis.…”