Dr. Steven Petak, president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), said his organization took a different approach last year as they addressed the issue of androgen therapy when updating their menopause guidelines.
“We also were quite cautious, and we agree that long-term safety issues need to be clarified,” he said. “But we still went on and stated that there are some criteria for diagnosis, and we gave some recommendations [for use of androgen].”
The Endocrine Society's guidelines “don't do much for patients whose therapies are being considered now,” said Dr. Petak of the Texas Institute for Reproduction and Endocrinology. “The Endocrine Society's recommendations for further basic and clinical research in the field are of prime importance and we agree wholeheartedly.”
Dr. Goodman cautioned against comparing the guidelines of the two organizations. “The Endocrine Society is looking at the entire, broader issue. They take a more universal kind of approach,” he said.