OU Medicine Specialist Gains National Recognition

Research papers co-authored by Panayiotis D. Tsitouras, M.D., FGSA, FAAA, geriatric medicine specialist with OU Medicine, were recently published in two medical journals of note.

An article on the topic of testosterone replacement in older men was first published digitally, immediately generating reprint requests, and has since been published in Drugs and Aging, the journal of Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The article notes that the effects of testosterone replacement therapy in men age 60 and older are significantly understudied, despite rapidly increasing use in aging males without clear justification. Advancements in medicine and technology have extended lifespans significantly, spurring the search to improve age-related risks for adverse health outcomes.

The question of restoring diminishing sex hormones has garnered much interest and has led to the practice of sex hormone replacement therapies in older adults, previously more prevalent among older women. In this article the authors review the latest scientific evidence for efficacy and risks of such treatment, and propose clear guidelines on who and when should be considered for testosterone “replacement” treatment.

Another paper, Stair Climb Power Test as an Efficacy Outcome in Randomized Trials of Function Promoting Therapies in Older Men, was published in the Journals of Gerontology, a publication of the Gerontological Society of America. The paper chronicles the safety and efficiency of standardized methods and proposes and validates new more clinically relevant ones to be used to assess improvements in physical function related to hormone therapies and other interventions in the elderly.

Tsitouras, associate professor of Geriatric Medicine with the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, is the current chair of the Publications Committee of the GSA, tasked with the supervision of the society’s five journals. Tsitouras also is one of three members who make up the Clinical Sciences Fellows Review Panel, which reviews applications and proposals for the induction of new society fellows.