Episode Details

It used to be that getting older meant slowing down. A little less pep, a little less zip, a little less zest. So it goes.

For men, this was partly about testosterone. After 40 or so, our bodies produce less and less testosterone, the hormone that helps give men energy and vigor and sex drive. Lower testosterone was just part of growing older.

But that was then! Nowadays, “Low T” is a bonafide medical condition - easily treated with a shot at your local neighborhood men’s health clinic.

Today, what used to be a secret sauce of bodybuilders or cheating athletes is now downright normal. Millions of men worldwide take testosterone therapy - and not just those over 40. Check out Reddit or TikTok...It is a WHOLE THING.

In this episode of Drug Story, we look at how TRT went mainstream, and how part of ordinary aging somehow became a disease.

Sources for this episode

[1] Male Hypogonadism (2024) STAT Pearls:Male hypogonadism is defined as inadequate testosterone production or impaired spermatogenesis, diagnosed via symptoms and low morning testosterone levels.

[2] Brown-Séquard: An improbable genius who transformed medicine (2011) The Journal of Clinical Investigation: Charles-Edouard Brown-Séquard, a pioneering 19th-century scientist who rose from a difficult childhood in Mauritius is said to be the founder of modern endocrinology and neurology.

[3] The life and legacy of Brown-Séquard (2017) Brain: Charles-Edouard Brown-Séquard’s insights helped show how nerves control blood vessels and laid the foundation for modern endocrinology by identifying internal secretions and early hormone therapy.

[4] The “Elixir of Life” (1889) J.G. Cupples Co: In a self-report, Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard covers his controversial self-experiments where he injected animal testicle extracts in pursuit of rejuvenation.

[5] The effect produced on man by subcutaneous injections of a liquid obtained from the testicles of animal (1889) Lancet: In a 1889 Lancet article, Brown-Séquard describes his pioneering experiments with subcutaneous injections of animal testicular extracts to combat the physical and mental decline associated with aging.

[6] A Brief History of Testosterone (2001) Journal of Urology: Hormone therapy became widely used to treat age and disease-related hormone decline, before risks were fully understood.

[7] History of Testosterone and Therapeutic Potential (2020) Sexual Medicine Reviews: Testosterone was isolated in 1935 by the Organon group, with independent synthesis by Adolf Butenandt and Leopold Ruzicka.

[8] Adolf Butenandt—Nobel Prize for Chemistry (2012) Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Adolf Butenandt isolated key sex hormones, contributing to foundational methods for steroid chemistry and earning the 1939 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

[9] Monkey business: reflections on testosterone (2012) BMJ: Testosterone is widely believed to drive masculinity, aggression, and performance, but st