According to a work signed by the University Campus Bio-Doctor of Rome and Sapienza University of Rome and published in the scientific journal "metabolism" measurethe male hormone may offer some useful information for prevention and treatment of the infection by Coronavirus, both in case you find it reduced and in case you work too much.
Rome, 04 May 2020 - Covid-19 affects men more than women. This is demonstrated by several studies in which it has been shown that about 60% of people affected by the virus are male. But what is the reason for this gender difference? According to an analysis conducted by theUniversity Campus Bio-Doctor of Rome and Sapienza University of Rome and published in the scientific journal "metabolism", the answer is to be found in a particular type of hormone: testosterone.
“In our working hypothesis we have faced the problem of testosterone, the male hormone par excellence, which can be lower or more high with a wide range of variation in the male population – explains Paolo Pozzilli full professor of endocrinology atUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma and director of endocrinology and diabetology at the Campus University Hospital Bio-Doctor – in particular, we know that testosterone levels decrease with age: therefore elderly subjects, i.e. those most affected by the Coronavirus, are also those with the lowest testosterone”.
As we read in this work, low levels of testosterone can cause a reduction in the activity of the respiratory muscles, their overall strength and exercise capacity, while the normal circulation of this male hormone shows an ameliorative effect on breathing. Furthermore, with low testosterone in the blood, an increase in inflammatory processes is observed which are associated with a worsening of the prognosis of the Covid-19 infection.
"On the other hand, an excess of androgenic activity could also be harmful - Ofchiara Andrea lenzi full professor of endocrinology at Sapienza University and coordinator of the endocrine, metabolic and andrological area of the Policlinico Umberto I – in those subjects in whom testosterone works too, i.e. where there is aa different capacity of his receptor to transmit its signal. Just because oneof the proteins that the virus needs to enter in cells, called TMPRSS2, is very sensitive to androgens, today there is great caution for the action of the male hormone in the entry mechanisms of the virus. In fact, qhis protein, regulated by testosterone and for that already studied in neoplastic disease of the prostate, may in the future become un possible therapeutic target in males affected by COVID-19 infection".
