[Bone and Men's Health. Late-onset hypogonadism in males and male menopause (andropause)].

"Male menopause" or "andropause" has been used as a popular term in public derived from the term "menopause" in females. However, there is no clear definition for this disorder. Recently, academic societies officially recommended to use "late-onset hypogonadism in males" (LOH) as an academic word. State of andropause and LOH is not the same but partially overlapped. In 2007, Japan's own guideline for LOH was published. Unlike Western countries, LOH is diagnosed by measuring serum free testosterone level because total testosterone did not show age-related decrease in a large Japanese male study. Patients with lower FT level undergo androgen replacement therapy. For those with normal FT, other treatments are recommended. Approval of more agents (i.e. androgen gel or oral medicine) for androgen replacement is awaited.