Department News
Dr. Robert Brannigan Featured in Stories Regarding "Manopause"
ABC News report on "male menopause | NBC News report on "male menopause" |
Northwestern urologist, Dr. Robert Brannigan, was interviewed by The Washington Post for an article on the rarely talked about condition of male menopause, sometimes referred to as "manopause".
Dr. Brannigan, who has been researching the topic, hoped to help shed light on this issue facing men as they age into their 40s. Oftentimes a man will start to notice a change in behavior and emotions but simply think they are going through normal changes. In fact, these changes may be due to male menopause. Symptoms include depression, irritability, low energy, weight gain, sexual dysfunction and more.
“What we see is that for men, often beginning in their late 30s or early 40s, there is a gradual drop in testosterone of about 1 to 2 percent a year.” says Dr. Brannigan. “We’re talking about a lot of men here. Unfortunately, the vast majority are undiagnosed.”
While the change in hormones is not as dramatic as that in women, it still can play a very large role in a man’s routines and can alter their daily lives.
The clinical term for the condition is late-onset hypogonadism, and Dr. Brannigan estimates more than 5 million American men are affected. Though controversial, Dr. Brannigan supports testosterone supplementation, which is the current treatment for hypogonadism, because he believes the benefits outweigh the long-term risks, which are currently still being researched.
“The question is this: Do patients sit back and let these changes occur and deal with the change in how they feel and function, or do they actually pursue available treatments that in many cases can help?” says Dr. Brannigan, who remarks his patients have had vast success with topical, injectable and implanted testosterone supplements as well as with medications that stimulate the body’s production of testosterone.
Dr. Brannigan is quoted as saying the treatment is not for everyone, citing those with prostate or breast cancer, sleep apnea, or those trying to conceive a baby should not use the hormone. Still, in the majority of his patients he’s noticed improvements in day-to-day lives, which can be very beneficial considering the strain on relationships this condition can cause.
The story was featured on The Washington Post website on October 4th and can be found here. He was also featured in two stories for the same topic on the Chicago nightly news on Channels 5 and 7. See video below.
