Effects of sulfonylurea as initial treatment on testosterone of middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes: A 16-week, pilot study

AIMS/INTRODUCTION To evaluate the effect of sulfonylurea (glimepiride)-based oral antidiabetic agents on testosterone levels in middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS As a substudy, 15 participants from the phase IV clinical trial of glimepiride (GREAT study) of middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes were included in the current study. After enrolment, the initial dose of oral glimepiride was 1 mg/day. The dose was titrated according to blood glucose levels and the participants were treated for 16 weeks. Meanwhile, another 15 healthy age- and body mass index-matched male subjects were randomly selected as the healthy control group. RESULTS Compared with the healthy control group, the middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes had significantly decreased total testosterone levels and a lower testosterone secretion index. Blood glucose and lipid profile levels were significantly improved after 16 weeks of treatment with no significant differences in bodyweight and waist circumference compared with baseline values. Recorded changes in luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and sex hormone-binding globulin levels were not statistically significant. However, total testosterone levels were significantly increased and testosterone secretion index values were significant higher than those of the baseline. CONCLUSIONS It is highly possible that sulfonylurea as an initial treatment can recover the decreased total serum testosterone levels and testosterone secretion index values in middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes.