This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

In the report by Lotufo and colleagues¹ on male pattern baldness and coronary heart disease (CHD), the authors conclude that "vertex pattern baldness appears to be a marker for increased risk of CHD." In the "Comment" section, they state that testosterone may provide a "plausible explanation for an association between baldness and CHD." The reference cited is a study that shows elevated testosterone levels in men with prostate cancer and baldness²; however, there were no measured testosterone concentrations in the data presented.

If elevated androgens provided the link between vertex baldness and CHD, why is there such a negative correlation between testosterone concentrations and coronary atheromatous changes?^3-5 Recently, results from the Telecom Study⁶ showed that decreased testosterone levels were associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors in otherwise healthy men.

Although there are differing opinions regarding testosterone and its association with CHD, a recent summary and commentary indicated that testosterone . . . [Full Text of this Article]