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American Morning
'Gimme a Minute'; Low Testosterone Causes Men's Health Problems
Aired June 18, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Is former President Clinton restoring his legacy or is he just making it worse? A lot of headlines this week playing up the comments that he made about impeachment and about Monica Lewinsky. Our crack panel for "Give me a Minute" takes a look at whether these comments are being blown out of proportion.
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST: Good topic today. Also, this report from yesterday we tried to get to. We'll get to it today. Sanjay is back with us.
Doctors looking to explain a familiar problem for middle-aged men. If they feel run down, if they feel fatigued or depressed, they think they have a simple answer; in a number of case cases that is easily treated, too. Sanjay has that in a matter of moments here.
O'BRIEN: We begin this morning with our "Give Me a Minute" panel, ready to weigh in on Bill Clinton's memoir and other news. So let's round up our usual suspects this morning.
In Washington, D.C., Jonah Goldberg from the "National Review" online. Good morning, Jonah.
JONAH GOLDBERG, "NATIONAL REVIEW" ONLINE: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: In beautiful San Francisco, Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor. Easy for me to say.
Hey, Donna. Good morning.
DONNA BRAZIL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: And in New York City, Andy Borowitz, the creator and star of the BorowitzReport.com. We keep calling you star all week, Andy. You're going to get a big head.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: How are you?
O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody. Jonah, we're going to begin with you.
As you've seen, President Clinton making the rounds, taking a little bit about his book. He talked about Monica Lewinsky, as well, and now we know he did it because he could. What do you think of that -- of that excuse?
GOLDBERG: I think it's -- it's a profoundly honest one for him and good for him for saying it. But I think what drives me nuts about all this is this notion that somehow the only thing he did wrong was this sort of private, metaphysically tacky affair in the White House.
There was this whole -- whole suite of behavior and tactics that he used around Lewinsky and before Lewinsky that he hasn't come clean on, and I don't think he will.
O'BRIEN: Does he get points for being honest, as Jonah says, Donna?
BRAZILE: I think he gets points for being honest. He gets points for, of course, creating one of the best economies in a century. And look, he admits his mistakes, unlike the current administration, who will not admit any mistake.
O'BRIEN: Andy, what does it mean when you say, "I did it because I could"?
BOROWITZ: Well, I think he's come a long way. You know, in the first draft of the book, all he said was "My bad." So...
O'BRIEN: Donna is going to take a swipe for us at the second question. And there is the bell. Let's move on.
John McCain, you know, he was wooed and wooed and wooed and wooed and wooed by the Kerry campaign. He finally is now going to go out and campaign for President Bush, which should effectively put an end to all this.
What do you think, Donna, happened? Why he is not going to be a vice presidential candidate?
BRAZILE: Well, because he's a conservative Republican. He doesn't want to join a Democratic ticket where has to go out and profess to support, you know, abortion rights, affirmative action and many other issues.
John Kerry must feel like a jilted lover, wooed a conservative to become a moderate, but you know what? I'll still vote for John Kerry.
O'BRIEN: Jonah, do you think it's a smart move on the part of the Arizona senator?
GOLDBERG: I think it's the only move on the part of the Arizona senator. I mean, I completely agree with Donna, who is one of the only Democrats to go no record saying the obvious thing on this whole story, which is that McCain is a pro-life foreign policy hawk conservative Republican, and for the Democrats to pick him as a V.P. means the Democrats don't believe in issues and neither, really, did the press. It was a very silly, weird story and should have died a long time ago.
O'BRIEN: Yes, but Vice President McCain had a nice little ring to it, didn't it? Andy?
BOROWITZ: Speaking of rings.
O'BRIEN: Exactly!
BOROWITZ: You know, I thought it was a really bad sign for Kerry when McCain put himself on that "do not call" list.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jonah, tackle this next question for me. Pat Buchanan now is pending an anti-Bush book. I mean, come on! There's a bunch out there now, most of them written by people who are Democrats.
What do you think the impact of this is going to be?
GOLDBERG: Well, I think it's an important point to clarify for a lot of people, which is that Pat Buchanan is not a Republican.
He quit the Republican Party years ago. And he may be a conservative of a certain stripe, but his magazine has been violently anti-Bush for a very long time now.
I don't think it will have that much impact, because the Buchananites out there are a known quantity, and there aren't that many of them.
O'BRIEN: Donna, you laughed out loud when he said Pat Buchanan is not a Republican. Why is that?
BRAZILE: Well, I think he is a Republican, and he disagrees with this president. But, look, get in line and -- and back John Kerry. We could use a couple of Republicans like Pat Buchanan.
O'BRIEN: She's still laughing. Look at that.
Andy, are you going to buy this book?
BOROWITZ: You know, I'd be surprised, more surprised if Pat Buchanan wrote a book that was critical of Attila the Hun. That would really shock me.
O'BRIEN: All right. We've got time to get to our under -- Let's wait for the bell. They didn't ring it for me. See, I try.
Let's get to our under covered story this morning. Donna, we're going to start with you. What did we miss?
BRAZILE: The AARP, which endorsed the Bush plan to lower prescription drugs, has now, it decided to embrace a plan on Capitol Hill to reimport drugs from Canada and other nations. That's a good move.
O'BRIEN: All right. And how about you, Jonah, what do you think we missed this week?
GOLDBERG: I'll tell you, actually from last week. In all the Reagan hoopla, one reporter, now retired, got it right.
CNN's Bernie Shaw got up during the Reagan funeral coverage and said that the press completely failed in its coverage of Ronald Reagan during the 1980s and that they owed their viewers an apology.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. And Andy, what's your final word this morning?
BOROWITZ: Well, on June 30, the U.S. will still have custody of Saddam Hussein, but Iraq will be allowed to see him on weekends.
O'BRIEN: And that is it for us this morning. You guys, as always, nice to see. Have a great weekend, and we'll see you back here next week.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
HEMMER: Good, clever stuff.
In a moment here, if you're looking for romance, a date could be a click away, a click of the remote away. Andy explains in a moment here, "Minding Your Business."
O'BRIEN: And if you're feeling a bit run down lately, it might take more than just some extra sleep to get you back up to speed. Dr. Sanjay Gupta stops by with a surprising diagnosis. That's ahead when we continue right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
In health news today, millions of American men suffer from low testosterone, and many do not know it. Doctors now recommend a tune- up for men over the age of 40.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta here with us now to explain this.
Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Most men don't know it; most men don't go to the doctor. We found a guy's story, a really interesting story, about one guy who decided he wasn't feeling well, decided to go to the doctor and found some amazing results turned his life around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT ROTH, DIAGNOSES WITH LOW TESTOSTERONE: Hello, Dr. Cross (ph). Good to see you again.
GUPTA (voice-over): Robert Roth is 55 years old. He was feeling tired, depressed and wasn't interested in sex.
ROTH: You just kind of drag around. You don't feel well. Your stomach kind of hurts.
GUPTA: He went to the doctor, thinking he had stomach problems but was tested for and diagnosed with low testosterone.
It's estimated five million American men suffer from low testosterone. Hormone levels start to drop as men get older and usually after age 30. Doctors normally start to see problems in men at age 40 to 50.
DR. ANTHONY KARPAS, ENDOCRINOLOGIST: It's a gradual thing in men. In other words, it tends to get worse as you get older.
GUPTA: Sometimes called male menopause, doctors are diagnosing low testosterone more often.
KARPAS: You do have people who, you know, think they're depressed or think they have a problem, and it turns out to be low testosterone.
GUPTA: Warning signs to look for: low sex drive, erectile dysfunction, depression, fatigue, and reduced muscle mass and strength.
ROTH: I've even had friends that have described symptoms to me that sound very much like the ones I had. And as soon as I suggest that maybe they should go get a testosterone test, they're immediately going through denial over the whole thing.
GUPTA: Finding out you if have low testosterone is not complicated. It can be diagnosed with a simple blood test. And treatment includes injections, patches or gels.
KARPAS: The gel gives you a very even effect, and you can actually follow the levels to make sure that the amount that's getting in is exactly what you want it to be.
GUPTA: Some of the side effects of treatment could be sleep problems; infertility; excess blood production, which could cause increased risk of stroke; and increased prostate size.
After testosterone therapy, Robert feels more energetic and focused.
ROTH: It sounds so corny, but it sort of gave me my life back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Really incredible for him, obviously. He thought he had stomach problems or the flu or something like that, got a simple blood test, low testosterone. He fixed that. He's a hundred percent better.
Not for everybody, though, Bill. Really, only if you have low testosterone should you be taking extra testosterone. Not to be taken...
HEMMER: Doctors are getting better at diagnosing it, as you point out, too.
GUPTA: Better diagnosing it, better treating it. You've got these gels, patches, things like that. A lot of people probably get...
HEMMER: Simple blood test will do it. Thank you, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
HEMMER: We'll see you.
In a moment here, some monkey business. Who knew they were so willing to lend a helping hand? We'll explain in a moment when we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Forty-six minutes past the hour now and time to take a look at today's other news with Heidi Collins.
Heidi, good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad, and good morning to you once again, everybody.
Saudi security officials are searching the capital city of Riyadh for kidnapped American Paul Johnson. With the captors' deadline today, Johnson's wife is offering an emotional plea for his release. Johnson was reported missing last Saturday.
Alabama police questioning suspects in connection with the shooting deaths of three officers. The city's police chief says at least three people were taken into custody. The three officers were shot while serving a warrant at a Birmingham home yesterday. It is the first time an officer has been killed in the city in nearly two years.
On a financial note, ever been turned down for anything because of bad credit? Well, it may not be your fault. A new survey shows one in four credit reports have serious errors. An overwhelming majority contain some sort of mistakes, which could hold people back from getting a home loan or opening a bank account. Consumers are urged to examine their reports before applying for new credit.
And a disabled man in California loves having a monkey around. A car accident left Craig Cook without the ability to use his legs and with only partial use of his arms, but this Capuchin monkey is making Craig's life a little bit easier. The monkey was given to him from a program called "Helping Hands."
Capuchin, I don't think I've said that on the air before.
O'BRIEN: Very cute little monkey.
COLLINS: Back over to you guys.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks, Heidi.
Jack's got the question of the day.
JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: I wonder if we could get one of those to handle the e-mail on CNN?
O'BRIEN: Sure we could. Is that what you'd like?
CAFFERTY: Yes. It's a thought.
Anyway, we do have it back up and running now at 8:48. The show starts at 7:00.
House of representatives voted down an amendment early this morning to send more security money to the nation's cities.
It was a measure proposed by New York Republican John Sweeney. It would have taken homeland security money away from the rural areas and redirected to the cities considered most at risk for terrorist attack. Sounds like a good idea to me.
The question is, where should the government spend the most money for homeland security?
John in Willard (ph), Ohio: "We should tighten up our borders and our ports of entry. If we can keep terrorists out of the country we could drastically reduce terrorism, since very few countries have means of delivering weapons from a distance."
Dick in Forest Hills, New York: "We must protect the most likely targets, not try to spread the money around so that everybody feels they got a piece. That's nuts and ultimately foolish."
Larry in Tuscaloosa, Alabama: "As a retired firefighter, I can tell you there are a few moderate to high-risk targets in rural areas. The most obvious of these, of course, are the stadiums, which present the kind of target that Tom Clancy wrote about. What we need is for the federal government to take an objective look at all feasible targets."
And Anthony in Nova Scotia writes, "The government should spend the entire federal budget on homeland security, and it would not guarantee the safety of Americans. Until the root causes of U.S. unpopularity around the world are addressed, terrorist attacks will continue to be a problem."
HEMMER: It was worth waiting for. Good stuff. Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Had to wait a long time, didn't we?
HEMMER: Yes. That we did; 8:48, in fact. Yes.
Need a date? If so, Andy Serwer knows where you can go, back here "Minding Your Business."
Good morning, Drew. Good to have you back here. Good to have you. A click away?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Indeed I do. On demand. You may remember a couple of weeks ago, Comcast was unable to get married to Disney, so now the nation's largest cable company is getting in the matchmaking business. Does that make sense to you?
It's dating on demand. Comcast will be rolling this out a couple of weeks from now in its hometown of Philadelphia, PA. Let's check out the specs on how this would work.
You make a video. You go to one of these dating bar scenes that they have. You know, these little events. You make a little video. You join this service, Hurrydate, that they're partnering with, pay $15 a month.
You watch profiles on TV. If you see someone you like, you send them an e-mail. You get to just sit there on your couch, in other words, and use your remote and click through personal ads.
Jack is snickering.
I guess it sort of works. One analyst was saying, you know, well, they're always looking for more content. This smacks a little bit of desperation, perhaps? I don't know.
You can see Rocky's personal ad. You know? Famous Philadelphians. I don't know. I don't know if this is going to work.
HEMMER: Let's talk -- Let's talk about the markets today, because there is a lot of attention going on oil again.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: There's another reason...
SERWER: Yes. This...
HEMMER: ... to look at the pump and think "why?"
SERWER: Well, I would laugh if it wasn't so sad and cry. And this is really pretty interesting stuff here.
Norwegian oil workers, 200 Norwegian oil workers are wreaking havoc on the world's oil markets this morning, the price of oil heading back up towards $40 a barrel. They're blocking output there; they're striking over wages.
Actually, Norway is the third largest oil exporter in the world, about, what, three million barrels a day. It's pretty interesting. They're actually starting to shut it down. Two hundred Norwegian oil workers.
HEMMER: Despite the oil prices, though, and the gasoline prices, everybody is going somewhere this summer. Americans aren't curtailing their activities in any way.
SERWER: Well, it's not so bad yet.
CAFFERTY: That would be except us. We're going nowhere.
HEMMER: You're right.
Thank you, Andy.
Next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING, chilling testimony yesterday in the final public hearing for 9/11. Even more so for the victims' relatives who attended there. We'll talk to one of them in a moment and find out why she was caught a bit off-guard.
Back in a moment when we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Quick check of the weather now and Chad Myers is at the CNN center for us with the latest.
Hey, Chad. Good morning again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: That defines sticky. Chad, thanks.
Coming up in our next hour, it's the Terminator versus James Bond in California. Potential political clash of the titans is ahead on "Political Pop."
Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Making the connection between Saddam Hussein and terror. Russian President Putin tells of a key warning from his special intelligence services.
Birmingham, Alabama, in shock today. Three police officers gunned down at once. How could it happen?
And a deadline looms for an American held hostage. The pleas and the pursuit all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
HEMMER: Welcome, everybody, 9 a.m. here in New York. Good morning on this Friday morning here.
That 9/11 commission hearings, they're over publicly, but the last day certainly offered some of the most chilling moments of all. Among other items, the public hearing was thought to be the voice of Mohammed Atta after he hijacked American Airlines Flight 11.
This morning, we'll talk to Carrie Lemack. Her mother died on board that plane. What does she take away from yesterday and the process as a whole?
A lot of emotion in that moment.
O'BRIEN: Yes. No question.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 18, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Is former President Clinton restoring his legacy or is he just making it worse? A lot of headlines this week playing up the comments that he made about impeachment and about Monica Lewinsky. Our crack panel for "Give me a Minute" takes a look at whether these comments are being blown out of proportion.
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST: Good topic today. Also, this report from yesterday we tried to get to. We'll get to it today. Sanjay is back with us.
Doctors looking to explain a familiar problem for middle-aged men. If they feel run down, if they feel fatigued or depressed, they think they have a simple answer; in a number of case cases that is easily treated, too. Sanjay has that in a matter of moments here.
O'BRIEN: We begin this morning with our "Give Me a Minute" panel, ready to weigh in on Bill Clinton's memoir and other news. So let's round up our usual suspects this morning.
In Washington, D.C., Jonah Goldberg from the "National Review" online. Good morning, Jonah.
JONAH GOLDBERG, "NATIONAL REVIEW" ONLINE: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: In beautiful San Francisco, Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor. Easy for me to say.
Hey, Donna. Good morning.
DONNA BRAZIL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: And in New York City, Andy Borowitz, the creator and star of the BorowitzReport.com. We keep calling you star all week, Andy. You're going to get a big head.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: How are you?
O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody. Jonah, we're going to begin with you.
As you've seen, President Clinton making the rounds, taking a little bit about his book. He talked about Monica Lewinsky, as well, and now we know he did it because he could. What do you think of that -- of that excuse?
GOLDBERG: I think it's -- it's a profoundly honest one for him and good for him for saying it. But I think what drives me nuts about all this is this notion that somehow the only thing he did wrong was this sort of private, metaphysically tacky affair in the White House.
There was this whole -- whole suite of behavior and tactics that he used around Lewinsky and before Lewinsky that he hasn't come clean on, and I don't think he will.
O'BRIEN: Does he get points for being honest, as Jonah says, Donna?
BRAZILE: I think he gets points for being honest. He gets points for, of course, creating one of the best economies in a century. And look, he admits his mistakes, unlike the current administration, who will not admit any mistake.
O'BRIEN: Andy, what does it mean when you say, "I did it because I could"?
BOROWITZ: Well, I think he's come a long way. You know, in the first draft of the book, all he said was "My bad." So...
O'BRIEN: Donna is going to take a swipe for us at the second question. And there is the bell. Let's move on.
John McCain, you know, he was wooed and wooed and wooed and wooed and wooed by the Kerry campaign. He finally is now going to go out and campaign for President Bush, which should effectively put an end to all this.
What do you think, Donna, happened? Why he is not going to be a vice presidential candidate?
BRAZILE: Well, because he's a conservative Republican. He doesn't want to join a Democratic ticket where has to go out and profess to support, you know, abortion rights, affirmative action and many other issues.
John Kerry must feel like a jilted lover, wooed a conservative to become a moderate, but you know what? I'll still vote for John Kerry.
O'BRIEN: Jonah, do you think it's a smart move on the part of the Arizona senator?
GOLDBERG: I think it's the only move on the part of the Arizona senator. I mean, I completely agree with Donna, who is one of the only Democrats to go no record saying the obvious thing on this whole story, which is that McCain is a pro-life foreign policy hawk conservative Republican, and for the Democrats to pick him as a V.P. means the Democrats don't believe in issues and neither, really, did the press. It was a very silly, weird story and should have died a long time ago.
O'BRIEN: Yes, but Vice President McCain had a nice little ring to it, didn't it? Andy?
BOROWITZ: Speaking of rings.
O'BRIEN: Exactly!
BOROWITZ: You know, I thought it was a really bad sign for Kerry when McCain put himself on that "do not call" list.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jonah, tackle this next question for me. Pat Buchanan now is pending an anti-Bush book. I mean, come on! There's a bunch out there now, most of them written by people who are Democrats.
What do you think the impact of this is going to be?
GOLDBERG: Well, I think it's an important point to clarify for a lot of people, which is that Pat Buchanan is not a Republican.
He quit the Republican Party years ago. And he may be a conservative of a certain stripe, but his magazine has been violently anti-Bush for a very long time now.
I don't think it will have that much impact, because the Buchananites out there are a known quantity, and there aren't that many of them.
O'BRIEN: Donna, you laughed out loud when he said Pat Buchanan is not a Republican. Why is that?
BRAZILE: Well, I think he is a Republican, and he disagrees with this president. But, look, get in line and -- and back John Kerry. We could use a couple of Republicans like Pat Buchanan.
O'BRIEN: She's still laughing. Look at that.
Andy, are you going to buy this book?
BOROWITZ: You know, I'd be surprised, more surprised if Pat Buchanan wrote a book that was critical of Attila the Hun. That would really shock me.
O'BRIEN: All right. We've got time to get to our under -- Let's wait for the bell. They didn't ring it for me. See, I try.
Let's get to our under covered story this morning. Donna, we're going to start with you. What did we miss?
BRAZILE: The AARP, which endorsed the Bush plan to lower prescription drugs, has now, it decided to embrace a plan on Capitol Hill to reimport drugs from Canada and other nations. That's a good move.
O'BRIEN: All right. And how about you, Jonah, what do you think we missed this week?
GOLDBERG: I'll tell you, actually from last week. In all the Reagan hoopla, one reporter, now retired, got it right.
CNN's Bernie Shaw got up during the Reagan funeral coverage and said that the press completely failed in its coverage of Ronald Reagan during the 1980s and that they owed their viewers an apology.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. And Andy, what's your final word this morning?
BOROWITZ: Well, on June 30, the U.S. will still have custody of Saddam Hussein, but Iraq will be allowed to see him on weekends.
O'BRIEN: And that is it for us this morning. You guys, as always, nice to see. Have a great weekend, and we'll see you back here next week.
GOLDBERG: Thank you.
HEMMER: Good, clever stuff.
In a moment here, if you're looking for romance, a date could be a click away, a click of the remote away. Andy explains in a moment here, "Minding Your Business."
O'BRIEN: And if you're feeling a bit run down lately, it might take more than just some extra sleep to get you back up to speed. Dr. Sanjay Gupta stops by with a surprising diagnosis. That's ahead when we continue right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
In health news today, millions of American men suffer from low testosterone, and many do not know it. Doctors now recommend a tune- up for men over the age of 40.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta here with us now to explain this.
Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Most men don't know it; most men don't go to the doctor. We found a guy's story, a really interesting story, about one guy who decided he wasn't feeling well, decided to go to the doctor and found some amazing results turned his life around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT ROTH, DIAGNOSES WITH LOW TESTOSTERONE: Hello, Dr. Cross (ph). Good to see you again.
GUPTA (voice-over): Robert Roth is 55 years old. He was feeling tired, depressed and wasn't interested in sex.
ROTH: You just kind of drag around. You don't feel well. Your stomach kind of hurts.
GUPTA: He went to the doctor, thinking he had stomach problems but was tested for and diagnosed with low testosterone.
It's estimated five million American men suffer from low testosterone. Hormone levels start to drop as men get older and usually after age 30. Doctors normally start to see problems in men at age 40 to 50.
DR. ANTHONY KARPAS, ENDOCRINOLOGIST: It's a gradual thing in men. In other words, it tends to get worse as you get older.
GUPTA: Sometimes called male menopause, doctors are diagnosing low testosterone more often.
KARPAS: You do have people who, you know, think they're depressed or think they have a problem, and it turns out to be low testosterone.
GUPTA: Warning signs to look for: low sex drive, erectile dysfunction, depression, fatigue, and reduced muscle mass and strength.
ROTH: I've even had friends that have described symptoms to me that sound very much like the ones I had. And as soon as I suggest that maybe they should go get a testosterone test, they're immediately going through denial over the whole thing.
GUPTA: Finding out you if have low testosterone is not complicated. It can be diagnosed with a simple blood test. And treatment includes injections, patches or gels.
KARPAS: The gel gives you a very even effect, and you can actually follow the levels to make sure that the amount that's getting in is exactly what you want it to be.
GUPTA: Some of the side effects of treatment could be sleep problems; infertility; excess blood production, which could cause increased risk of stroke; and increased prostate size.
After testosterone therapy, Robert feels more energetic and focused.
ROTH: It sounds so corny, but it sort of gave me my life back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Really incredible for him, obviously. He thought he had stomach problems or the flu or something like that, got a simple blood test, low testosterone. He fixed that. He's a hundred percent better.
Not for everybody, though, Bill. Really, only if you have low testosterone should you be taking extra testosterone. Not to be taken...
HEMMER: Doctors are getting better at diagnosing it, as you point out, too.
GUPTA: Better diagnosing it, better treating it. You've got these gels, patches, things like that. A lot of people probably get...
HEMMER: Simple blood test will do it. Thank you, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
HEMMER: We'll see you.
In a moment here, some monkey business. Who knew they were so willing to lend a helping hand? We'll explain in a moment when we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Forty-six minutes past the hour now and time to take a look at today's other news with Heidi Collins.
Heidi, good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad, and good morning to you once again, everybody.
Saudi security officials are searching the capital city of Riyadh for kidnapped American Paul Johnson. With the captors' deadline today, Johnson's wife is offering an emotional plea for his release. Johnson was reported missing last Saturday.
Alabama police questioning suspects in connection with the shooting deaths of three officers. The city's police chief says at least three people were taken into custody. The three officers were shot while serving a warrant at a Birmingham home yesterday. It is the first time an officer has been killed in the city in nearly two years.
On a financial note, ever been turned down for anything because of bad credit? Well, it may not be your fault. A new survey shows one in four credit reports have serious errors. An overwhelming majority contain some sort of mistakes, which could hold people back from getting a home loan or opening a bank account. Consumers are urged to examine their reports before applying for new credit.
And a disabled man in California loves having a monkey around. A car accident left Craig Cook without the ability to use his legs and with only partial use of his arms, but this Capuchin monkey is making Craig's life a little bit easier. The monkey was given to him from a program called "Helping Hands."
Capuchin, I don't think I've said that on the air before.
O'BRIEN: Very cute little monkey.
COLLINS: Back over to you guys.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks, Heidi.
Jack's got the question of the day.
JACK CAFFERTY, CO-HOST: I wonder if we could get one of those to handle the e-mail on CNN?
O'BRIEN: Sure we could. Is that what you'd like?
CAFFERTY: Yes. It's a thought.
Anyway, we do have it back up and running now at 8:48. The show starts at 7:00.
House of representatives voted down an amendment early this morning to send more security money to the nation's cities.
It was a measure proposed by New York Republican John Sweeney. It would have taken homeland security money away from the rural areas and redirected to the cities considered most at risk for terrorist attack. Sounds like a good idea to me.
The question is, where should the government spend the most money for homeland security?
John in Willard (ph), Ohio: "We should tighten up our borders and our ports of entry. If we can keep terrorists out of the country we could drastically reduce terrorism, since very few countries have means of delivering weapons from a distance."
Dick in Forest Hills, New York: "We must protect the most likely targets, not try to spread the money around so that everybody feels they got a piece. That's nuts and ultimately foolish."
Larry in Tuscaloosa, Alabama: "As a retired firefighter, I can tell you there are a few moderate to high-risk targets in rural areas. The most obvious of these, of course, are the stadiums, which present the kind of target that Tom Clancy wrote about. What we need is for the federal government to take an objective look at all feasible targets."
And Anthony in Nova Scotia writes, "The government should spend the entire federal budget on homeland security, and it would not guarantee the safety of Americans. Until the root causes of U.S. unpopularity around the world are addressed, terrorist attacks will continue to be a problem."
HEMMER: It was worth waiting for. Good stuff. Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Had to wait a long time, didn't we?
HEMMER: Yes. That we did; 8:48, in fact. Yes.
Need a date? If so, Andy Serwer knows where you can go, back here "Minding Your Business."
Good morning, Drew. Good to have you back here. Good to have you. A click away?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Indeed I do. On demand. You may remember a couple of weeks ago, Comcast was unable to get married to Disney, so now the nation's largest cable company is getting in the matchmaking business. Does that make sense to you?
It's dating on demand. Comcast will be rolling this out a couple of weeks from now in its hometown of Philadelphia, PA. Let's check out the specs on how this would work.
You make a video. You go to one of these dating bar scenes that they have. You know, these little events. You make a little video. You join this service, Hurrydate, that they're partnering with, pay $15 a month.
You watch profiles on TV. If you see someone you like, you send them an e-mail. You get to just sit there on your couch, in other words, and use your remote and click through personal ads.
Jack is snickering.
I guess it sort of works. One analyst was saying, you know, well, they're always looking for more content. This smacks a little bit of desperation, perhaps? I don't know.
You can see Rocky's personal ad. You know? Famous Philadelphians. I don't know. I don't know if this is going to work.
HEMMER: Let's talk -- Let's talk about the markets today, because there is a lot of attention going on oil again.
SERWER: Yes.
HEMMER: There's another reason...
SERWER: Yes. This...
HEMMER: ... to look at the pump and think "why?"
SERWER: Well, I would laugh if it wasn't so sad and cry. And this is really pretty interesting stuff here.
Norwegian oil workers, 200 Norwegian oil workers are wreaking havoc on the world's oil markets this morning, the price of oil heading back up towards $40 a barrel. They're blocking output there; they're striking over wages.
Actually, Norway is the third largest oil exporter in the world, about, what, three million barrels a day. It's pretty interesting. They're actually starting to shut it down. Two hundred Norwegian oil workers.
HEMMER: Despite the oil prices, though, and the gasoline prices, everybody is going somewhere this summer. Americans aren't curtailing their activities in any way.
SERWER: Well, it's not so bad yet.
CAFFERTY: That would be except us. We're going nowhere.
HEMMER: You're right.
Thank you, Andy.
Next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING, chilling testimony yesterday in the final public hearing for 9/11. Even more so for the victims' relatives who attended there. We'll talk to one of them in a moment and find out why she was caught a bit off-guard.
Back in a moment when we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Quick check of the weather now and Chad Myers is at the CNN center for us with the latest.
Hey, Chad. Good morning again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: That defines sticky. Chad, thanks.
Coming up in our next hour, it's the Terminator versus James Bond in California. Potential political clash of the titans is ahead on "Political Pop."
Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Making the connection between Saddam Hussein and terror. Russian President Putin tells of a key warning from his special intelligence services.
Birmingham, Alabama, in shock today. Three police officers gunned down at once. How could it happen?
And a deadline looms for an American held hostage. The pleas and the pursuit all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
HEMMER: Welcome, everybody, 9 a.m. here in New York. Good morning on this Friday morning here.
That 9/11 commission hearings, they're over publicly, but the last day certainly offered some of the most chilling moments of all. Among other items, the public hearing was thought to be the voice of Mohammed Atta after he hijacked American Airlines Flight 11.
This morning, we'll talk to Carrie Lemack. Her mother died on board that plane. What does she take away from yesterday and the process as a whole?
A lot of emotion in that moment.
O'BRIEN: Yes. No question.
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