Women are turning to testosterone, but what does the science actually say?
Testosterone is usually filed as the male hormone, but women produce it too, in the ovaries and adrenal glands, with some converted into oestradiol and the rest acting directly on bone, muscle, the heart and the brain. Demand among menopausal women has grown so sharply that some have reportedly posed as men to obtain testosterone gel, because products designed for women are scarce. A biochemist's verdict is that the appetite has outrun the science: the evidence for most uses in women remains patchy. That gap between demand and data is the real story here.
For you: Worth knowing before pursuing testosterone for menopause symptoms: women make the hormone naturally, but the evidence for topping it up is still patchy and female-specific products are scarce.
What it shows: Reported by The Conversation (UK health) and not verified by us: we could not trace this story to a published paper, so treat it as news rather than evidence we have checked.