The male menopause-does it exist?

The male menopause may not be the right term for it, but men do have a collection of symptoms in mid-life that equate to the female menopause, argue Gould and Petty of Goldcross Medical Services, London, in a debate in this week's BMJ. Not so, contends Howard Jacobs, of the Royal Free and University College School of Medicine, London. There's no biological evidence to support a "menopause" in men, he says. It's simply a matter of getting older and experiencing a gradual decline in physical prowess. And unlike menopausal women, whose symptoms can be remedied with hormone replacement therapy, additional testosterone does little to resolve men's symptoms, he concludes.

Contacts:

Dr Duncan Gould, Goldcross Medical Services, London Email: duncan@goldcrossmedical.com

Or

Professor Howard Jacobs, Royal Free and University College School of Medicine, Middlesex Hospital, London Email: H.Jacobs@ucl.ac.uk