GC: n

S: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/406443 (last access: 15 January 2016); http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24014001 (last access: 15 January 2016).

N: 1. From andro-, on the pattern of menopause.
First known use: 1967.
2. A variable complex of symptoms, including decreased Leydig cell numbers and androgen production, occurring in men after middle age, purported to be analogous to menopause in women.
3. Andropause is the term given to a combination of symptoms that can lead to the male menopause. It is a controversial term, and medical opinion is split as to whether this phenomenon actually occurs, but it is usually attributed to a reduction in the level of testosterone in men over the age of 40. The controversy emerges because there is no clear physical symptom to match the end of menstruation in women. The symptoms that do occur include an increase in body fat, loss of muscle mass and low energy, usually accompanied by a lowered sex drive, impotence and mood swings. All of these symptoms can be attributed to other conditions, which makes diagnosis difficult. Treatment can include testosterone replacement therapy, but not in the case of male breast or prostate cancer sufferers.
4. The term male menopause is sometimes used to describe an equivalent aging-related decline in testicular function that results in testosterone deficiency in men. This process is alternatively referred to as late-onset hypogonadism or andropause. It affects about 2 percent of men and may begin at age 40. Unlike menopause in women, late-onset hypogonadism in men occurs gradually.

S: 1. OD – http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/andropause (last access: 15 January 2016); MW – http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/andropause (last access: 15 January 2016). 2. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Male+climacteric – Dorland’s Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers (last access: 15 January 2016). 3. http://www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/conditions/andropause/ (last access: 15 January 2016). 4. EncBrit – http://global.britannica.com/topic/male-menopause (last access: 15 January 2016).

SYN: male menopause

S: EncBrit – http://global.britannica.com/topic/male-menopause (last access: 15 January 2016)

CR: menopause