According to American Urological Association, the diagnosis of low testosterone can be supported when the total testosterone level is below 300 ng/dl. Some men with normal total testosterone have low free or bioavailable testosterone levels which could still account for their symptoms. Men with low serum testosterone levels should have other hormones checked, particularly luteinizing hormone to help determine why their testosterone levels are low and help choose the most appropriate treatment (most notably, testosterone is usually not appropriate for secondary or tertiary forms of male hypogonadism, in which the LH levels are usually reduced).Treatment is often prescribed for total testosterone levels below 230 ng/dL with symptoms. If the serum total testosterone level is between 230 and 350 ng/dL, free or bioavailable testosterone should be checked as they are frequently low when the total is marginal.The standard range given is based on widely varying ages and, given that testosterone levels naturally decrease as humans age, age-group specific averages should be taken into consideration when discussing treatment between doctor and patient. In men, testosterone falls approximately 1 to 3 percent each year. Blood testingA position statement by the Endocrine Society expressed dissatisfaction with most assays for total, free, and bioavailable testosterone. In particular, research has questioned the validity of commonly administered assays of free testosterone by radioimmunoassay. The free androgen index, essentially a calculation based on total testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin levels, has been found to be the worst predictor of free testosterone levels and should not be used.
Due to these side effects and its red color, doxorubicin has earned the nickname "red devil" or "red death. "Chemotherapy can cause reactivation of hepatitis B, and doxorubicin-containing regimens are no exception.Doxorubicin and several chemotherapeutic drugs (including cyclophosphamide) can cause a loss of skin pigmentation. Liposomal formulations
There is a pegylated (polyethylene glycol coated) liposome-encapsulated form of doxorubicin, developed to treat Kaposis sarcoma The polyethylene glycol coating results in preferential concentration of doxorubicin in the skin. However, this also results in a side effect called palmar plantar erythrodysesthesia (PPE), more commonly known as hand-foot syndrome. Following administration of this form of doxorubicin, small amounts of the drug can leak from capillaries in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The result of this leakage is redness, tenderness, and peeling of the skin that can be uncomfortable and even painful. In clinical testing at 50 mg/m2 dosing every 4 weeks, half of people developed hand-foot syndrome. The rate of this side effect limits the dose of this formulation that can be given as compared with plain doxorubicin in the same treatment regimen, thereby limiting potential substitution. Substitution would be desirable because liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin is less cardiotoxic than unencapsulated doxorubicin.