Castration adds years to life

[happousai (imported)]

I wonder if there's going to exist a few guys who are totally obsessed with having a long life, and decide to get castrated solely for that reason.

[JeffEunuch (imported)]

There may be guys that are so obsessed. The point is that voluntary castration may gain greater acceptance, and we'll gain greater control over our bodies. For those no longer wanting to reproduce, it's an alternative to having the vasectomy procedure.

My personal view is there won't be so many young guys seeking the procedure because it potentially means losing muscle tone, sexuality and the ability to reproduce. OTOH, low levels of testosterone supplementation - my regime - can compensate for much of the loss.

[JesusA (imported)]

The relation between castration and longevity is discussed by Malcolm Potts and Roger Short in Ever Since Adam and Eve: The Evolution of Human Sexuality (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999), where it is noted that refraining from smoking increases life expectancy by 4.9 years, while getting castrated increases it by 13.6 years. Papers on the topic include James B. Hamilton and Gordon E. Mestler, "Mortality and Survival: Comparison of Eunuchs with Intact Men and Women in a Mentally Retarded Population," Journal of Gerontology, Vol. 24 (1969), pp. 394-411.

The above paragraph is quoted directly from Heros, Rogues and Lovers: Testosterone and Behavior by James McBride Dabbs (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000), p. 222. The information is not new. What is interesting is how it now seems to fit the sentiment of the culture and has been appearing in numerous places. Not only the newspaper articles above, but others in several sources over the past couple of months.

Nature magazine on the relationship between testosterone and parasite infections, leading to reduced longevity for males:

http://www.nature.com/nsu/020916/020916-16.html

A very brief review of Y: The Descent of Man by Steve Jones in the Guardian, has the line "that castrati live 13 years longer than 'unaltered fellows' is particularly unsettling. Balls are bad for you, it seems.

http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/sci ... 82,00.html

[happousai (imported)]

>

My personal view is there won't be so many young guys

> seeking the procedure because it potentially means

> losing muscle tone, sexuality and the ability to

> reproduce.

I'm a 20-year old guy. My thoughts on the above are:

Muscle Tone: Being strong is good. But come to think of it, my physical ability is not that important in my daily activities. My mental ability is.

Sexuality: I've never had sex. I'm pretty anti-social, and don't even really know how to go about getting a girlfriend. I appear to be un-orgasmic, at least I've never been able to masturbate myself to orgasm. That, combined with having testosterone, makes me sexually frustrated.

Ability to Reproduce: I personally have no desire in enslaving myself to offspring for over a decade. I want my time to be my own.

[Dok (imported)]

I have been interested in the current debate about Testosterone causing immune suppression. This has often been sited as the cause for women living longer than men. But where is the proof?

Does anyone know of any scientific journal articles that have studied this issue? If so, please post.

[JesusA (imported)]

Dok,

There are several references and links earlier in this thread. They should provide a good starting point with their bibliographies and further search for works by the same authors.

You will also find other information both in earlier threads on Eunuchs in the Arts and News and on the Nonfiction Board.

Please post any references that you discover for the rest of us. I, of course, will be posting whatever I find.

[Eunuchist (imported)]

Dok,

There exists a number of studies done on rats and other animals that document the immunosuppressive effects of androgens. For instance:

http://joe.endocrinology-journals.org/c ... /158/2/229

http://www.arclab.org/medlineupdates/ab ... 85623.html

How it works is that testosterone (as well as estrogens) inhibit the thymus, making it shrink and atrohpy. Thymus gland plays an important role in the effectiveness of immune response as it produces and "educates" T cells, making them more competent and effective. In uncastrated males bone marrow is the main source for the production of T cells. However, such production is not considered fulfilled unless these T cells are absorbed by Thymus, and undergo even further maturation/differentiation before they finally are allowed to enter the blood stream. During this critical process many of the absorbed T cells are being destroyed within thymus if they show any signs of deterioration or abnormality. Thus, only healthy and competent T cells are being released. Without thymus, there is no such mechanism to perform this maturation process (or decreased with a damaged thymus). Thus, intact males have less effective T cells, and can result in diminished

response to diseases, as well as higher instances of immuno-reactive disorders. Studies also show that children with impaired thymus function have a very high susceptibility for infections.

http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/pr ... elNr=26373

http://www.bchealthguide.org/kbase/nord/nord74.htm

[Eunuchist (imported)]

Also stumbled upon this interesting interview with Richard Boyd, Australia's leading researcher in the field of thymogenesis.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s725898.htm