Testosterone: Damage Control Agent

            Inspired by Eileen Foecking's work using testosterone to treat mild traumatic brain injury, the question arose: how might this hormone, testosterone, be harnessed for other areas of benefit? While in Foecking’s lab testosterone treatment significantly improved vestibular neuronal survival and indicated a possible therapeutic strategy for traumatic brain injury, its potential extends beyond this laboratory. Numerous areas of research have begun to discover the possibilities for the use of testosterone in treatment and therapies.

Androgens play a key role in the body, particularly interlocking with cognitive function in the brain. Reduction in androgen levels with age has been linked to neurodegenerative disorders. The deficiency induces hippocampal synaptic damage. Despite ongoing research, the mechanisms in androgen pathways relating to cognitive function have not been fully elucidated. With emerging ideas scientists are led to believe testosterone may have a neuroprotective effect. This sort of pondering leads to the creation of new research and synthesizes further knowledge on the reasons behind such mechanisms and effects. 

In notable work, Zhang and associates found a link between testosterone and the reduction of hippocampal synaptic damage. By testing testicular feminization mutation male mice, they observed enhancements to spatial memory deficit and neuronal damage. Their methods included a variety of staining techniques and the conduction of the Morris water maze test. Resultantly, testosterone yielded such results due to the way it activates the Erk1/2-CREB signaling pathway in an AR-independent manner. The study’s findings could provide new direction for the effect of androgens within the nervous system.

Fascinatingly, the area of research involving testosterone has flourished in recent years. Both of the published works mentioned above note an improvement of different areas in the nervous system attributed to the androgen, testosterone. This opens the door to future therapeutic strategies utilizing the hormone. As testosterone’s power in damage control becomes more apparent, it continues to be the subject of exploration in modern research.  

References:

Zhang Y, Chen M, Chen H, Mi S, Wang C, Zuo H, Song L, Du J, Cui H, Li S. Testosterone reduces hippocampal synaptic damage in an androgen receptor-independent manner. J Endocrinol. 2023 Dec 13;260(2):e230114. doi: 10.1530/JOE-23-0114. PMID: 37991884; PMCID: PMC10762536.