Patients were mostly white, 54-year-old men with an average body mass index of 37 kg/m2.
Testosterone levels at baseline were an average of 9.6 nmol/L in the placebo group and 9.1 nmol/L in the test group.
Dr. Ebrahimi and his colleagues randomly assigned patients to either the IL-1 antagonist treatment anakinra, or a placebo for 4 weeks.
Total testosterone levels in the treatment group rose 11% over 4 weeks, ending the trial with an average level 0.96 nmol/L higher than the placebo group, according to the investigators.
Evidence of the positive effects of the anti-inflammatory were clear when patients were broken into subgroups based on baseline inflammation levels.
Patients who did not have baseline inflammation did not respond to treatment, while patients with a baseline CRP level higher than 2 mg/l had an increase of 2.14 nmol/L, explained Dr. Ebrahimi.