Involuntary weight loss is the result of many chronic progressive diseases, often leading to diminished lean body mass, frailty, susceptibility to illness, and increased mortality. Various anabolic agents have been used to combat weight loss with mixed results. Similar to the frustration experienced by advocates of weight loss in the obese, none of the pharmacological appetite stimulants available at the current time have been uniformly successful in combating involuntary weight loss in the elderly population. (more…)

Potential benefits of T treatment in older men must be weighed against risks of adverse effects. In young hypogonadal men, physiological T replacement is low risk. In older men, risk–benefit ratios may be less advantageous. Minor adverse effects of T treatment include fluid retention, erythrocytosis, and sleep apnea, problems that may be more common in old men. Of greater concern are possible increases in atherosclerosis and greater risk of prostate cancer. (more…)