Testosterone for TRT Could Someday Be Supplied from a Single Skin Cell

The title of this article sounds pretty bizarre, but it is true, nonetheless.

Researchers have figured out how to grow testosterone-producing cells in the laboratory that could be used in testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) to treat low testosterone, or hypogonadism, with personalized replacement cells.

It’s pretty wild to think about, and here are the details of this breakthrough research and development.

The research was published in Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences and focused on turning stem cells into fully functioning Leydig cells. In men, these cells within the testes manufacture testosterone, a sex hormone.

Why Men Need Testosterone Replacement Therapy

Across America and the world, millions of men experience low testosterone, especially as men age.

It’s a fact of life. Some men are more impacted than others, experiencing mood shifts, infertility, poor libido and sexual function (erectile dysfunction), weight gain and/or poor bone density…or even all this at once!

Yikes! Due to the high demand, TRT is a multi-billion-dollar industry with treatment centers across the country. All men age, and all men will experience some sort of low testosterone in their lifetime.

Testosterone production can even be impacted by getting sick, such as with mumps, or by having cancer treatment during the adolescent years.

Thankfully, TRT is a simple fix most of the time, especially since, these days, there are multiple options available: injections, capsules, gels/creams, sprays, and pellets. Lead researcher Vassilios Papadopoulos says, “You feel better, you lose weight, the erectile function returns. Men love testosterone.”

New Method Could Bypass Side Effects

Unfortunately, TRT has some side effects, just like with most drugs and hormone treatments.

These include infertility and possibly the increased risk of prostate cancer and heart issues.

However, this is hotly debated, and studies are conflicting. In addition, with the gels/creams, the hormone can rub off on people in close contact with the patient, such as significant others or children.

This can have dire consequences if it happens consistently, especially for children. The researchers believe that a transplant of lab-grown testosterone-producing cells injected into the patient would significantly reduce the side effects and have no chance of cross-contamination.

Scientists who previously tried to cultivate Leydig cells from stem cells failed because their cells produced cortisol and not the desired testosterone.

Other times, stem cells from bone marrow or umbilical cords were used and do not multiply that well in the laboratory, according to Papadopoulos. His team used human-induced pluripotent stem cells from skin or blood, which can develop into any type of cell needed or wanted by scientists.

Papadopoulos added his secret ingredient of collagen to the mix, and lo and behold; the cells started producing testosterone.

Plus, the Leydig cells looked precisely the same as a naturally occurring ones in the male reproductive tract.

Papadopoulos says that “the human collagen was the secret sauce.” He thinks that human transplantation of these cells is a few years away, but the next step is transplanting them into animal subjects with hypogonadism. Stay tuned for those updates!

And rest assured, the updates will be coming, fast and furious. The breakthroughs and developments in the longevity field are increasing at a blistering pace.

Between nanotechnology, stem cells, genetic editing, 3-D printing, artificial intelligence, hormone replacement therapy, and pharmaceutical discoveries, the possibility of an extended AND healthy life span is increasing by leaps and bounds.

The future is indeed bright...for those who can stay around long enough to experience these mind-boggling advancements.  And that's where we come up.

Contact us for a FREE, no-obligation discussion concerning the incredible benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and many other life-extending technologies.

Reference

Science Daily

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