The FDA said at a panel this week that it is open to making changes on the black-box warnings for testosterone products. That’s good news for men with low testosterone, which can cause fatigue, low libido and depression and leads to higher risks for Type 2 diabetes and heart attacks.
But one issue that didn’t get much attention during the two-hour discussion is how testosterone is an increasingly popular part of anti-aging regimens, including one reportedly used by the guy who ultimately controls the FDA: That would be Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Silicon Valley denizens have embraced all kinds of supplements and off-label prescription drugs aimed at increasing longevity—including testosterone.
Kennedy, who has been photographed working out shirtless and wearing a pair of jeans, shared with Lex Fridman’s podcast listeners in 2023 that he uses testosterone replacement therapy as part of an anti-aging regimen approved by his doctor. Joe Rogan has spoken several times on his own podcast about how taking testosterone and making lifestyle changes dramatically improved his health. Larry Lipshultz, one of the speakers on the FDA panel and a professor of urology at Baylor College of Medicine, summed it up for me afterward: “The older the person is, if he looks fantastic, the more likely it is he’s probably taking T,” shorthand for testosterone.
Full story: Silicon Valley’s Testosterone Party Could Get Bigger