Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25430996›Full record

Trial reportJournal of endocrinological investigation2015

Effects of testosterone administration on cognitive function in hysterectomized women with low testosterone levels: a dose-response randomized trial.

G Huang, W Wharton, T G Travison, M H Ho, C Gleason, S Asthana, S Bhasin, S Basaria

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of endocrinological investigation, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. ADHD and Sex Hormones in Females: A Systematic Review.Journal of attention disorders · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
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  5. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

G HuangSection of Men's Health: Aging and Metabolism, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, BLI-5, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. ghuang7@partners.org.
W WhartonDepartment of Neurology, Emory University, WWHC 1841 Clifton Rd., NE, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA.
T G TravisonSection of Men's Health: Aging and Metabolism, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, BLI-5, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
M H HoDivision of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, 90059, USA.
C GleasonSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53792, USA.
S AsthanaSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53792, USA.
S BhasinSection of Men's Health: Aging and Metabolism, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, BLI-5, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
S BasariaSection of Men's Health: Aging and Metabolism, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, BLI-5, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Harvard University · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USCharles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science · USEmory University · USUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison · USWilliam S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital · US

Funding

TUFTS--FIELDINGP30AG031679 · NIA · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI Ravi Jasuja · 2008 to 2026
$23.9M
THE BIOLOGIC EFFECTS OF ANDROGENS IN MEN AND WOMENU54HD041748 · NICHD · CHARLES R. DREW UNIVERSITY OF MED &SCI · PI FRIEDMAN, THEODORE C · 2003 to 2010
$6.5M
NIA NIH HHS 5P30AG031679NIA NIH HHS P30 AG031679NICHD NIH HHS 5U54HD041748-0NICHD NIH HHS U54 HD041748PHS HHS 2008 TF D2274G
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo determine the dose-dependent effects of testosterone administration on cognition in women with low testosterone levels.

methods71 hysterectomized women with or without oophorectomy with total testosterone <31 ng/dl and/or free testosterone <3.5 pg/ml received a standardized transdermal estradiol regimen during the 12-week run-in period and were then randomized to receive weekly intramuscular injections of placebo, 3, 6.25, 12.5, or 25 mg testosterone enanthate for 24 weeks. Total testosterone was measured in serum by LC-MS/MS, and free testosterone levels were measured by equilibrium dialysis. Cognitive function was evaluated using a comprehensive battery of standardized neuropsychological tests at baseline and 24 weeks.

results46 women who had baseline and end-of-treatment cognitive function data constituted the analytic sample. The five groups were similar at baseline. Mean on-treatment nadir total testosterone concentrations were 15, 89, 98, 134, and 234 ng/dl in the placebo, 3, 6.25, 12.5, and 25 mg groups, respectively. No significant changes in spatial ability, verbal fluency, verbal memory, or executive function were observed in any treatment arm compared to placebo even after adjustment for baseline cognitive function, age, and education. Multiple regression analysis did not show any significant relation between changes in testosterone concentrations and change in cognitive function scores.

conclusionShort-term testosterone administration over a wide range of doses for 24 weeks in women with low testosterone levels was neither associated with improvements nor worsening of cognitive function.

Indexed as

HysterectomyAdultCognitionDose-Response Relationship, DrugDouble-Blind MethodEstradiolExecutive FunctionFemaleHumansMiddle AgedOvariectomyTestosteroneTreatment OutcomeEstradiolTestosteroneAndrogen deficiencyCognitionMenopauseTestosterone

Identifiers

PMID25430996
PMCPMC4716804
OpenAlexW2089807185

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.