Laboratory assay reproducibility of serum estrogens in umbilical cord blood samples.
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We evaluated the reproducibility of laboratory assays for umbilical cord blood estrogen levels and its implications on sample size estimation. Specifically, we examined correlation between duplicate measurements of the same blood samples and estimated the relative contribution of variability due to study subject and assay batch to the overall variation in measured hormone levels. Cord blood was collected from a total of 25 female babies (15 Caucasian and 10 Chinese-American) from full-term deliveries at two study sites between March and December 1997. Two serum aliquots per blood sample were assayed, either at the same time or 4 months apart, for estrone, total estradiol, weakly bound estradiol, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). Correlation coefficients (Pearson's r) between duplicate measurements were calculated. We also estimated the components of variance for each hormone or protein associated with variation among subjects and variation between assay batches. Pearson's correlation coefficients were >0.90 for all of the compounds except for total estradiol when all of the subjects were included. The intraclass correlation coefficient, defined as a proportion of the total variance due to between-subject variation, for estrone, total estradiol, weakly bound estradiol, and SHBG were 92, 80, 85, and 97%, respectively. The magnitude of measurement error found in this study would increase the sample size required for detecting a difference between two populations for total estradiol and SHBG by 25 and 3%, respectively. (+info)
Semen quality and reproductive hormones before orchiectomy in men with testicular cancer.
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PURPOSE: To obtain information about preorchiectomy gonadal function in patients with testicular germ cell cancer to improve the clinical management of fertility and other andrologic aspects in these men. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In group 1, a group of 83 consecutive patients with testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC) investigated before orchiectomy, semen analysis was carried out in 63 patients and hormonal investigations, including measurement of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, estradiol, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), inhibin B, and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), in 71 patients. Hormone levels in patients with elevated hCG (n = 41) were analyzed separately. To discriminate between general cancer effects and specific effects associated with TGCC, the same analyses were carried out in a group of 45 consecutive male patients with malignant lymphoma (group 2). Group 3 comprised 141 men employed in a Danish company who served as controls in the comparison of semen parameters. As a control group in hormone investigations, 193 men were selected randomly from the Danish National Personal Register to make up group 4. RESULTS: We found significantly lower sperm concentration (median, 15 x 10(6)/mL; range, 0 to 128 x 10(6)/mL) and total sperm count (median, 29 x 10(6)/mL; range, 0 to 589 x 10(6)) in patients with testicular cancer than in patients with malignant lymphomas (sperm concentration: median, 48 x 10(6)/mL; range, 0.04 to 250 x 10(6)/mL; sperm count: median, 146 x 10(6); range, 0.05 to 418 x 10(6)) (P < .001 and P < .001) and healthy men (sperm concentration: median, 48 x 10(6)/mL; range, 0 to 402 x 10(6)/mL; sperm count: median, 162 x 10(6); range, 0 to 1253 x 10(6)) (P < .001 and P < .001). FSH levels were increased in men with testicular cancer (median, 5.7 IU/L; range, 2.0 to 27 IU/L) compared with both men with malignant lymphomas (median, 3.3 IU/L; range, 1.01 to 12.0 IU/L) and healthy controls (median, 4.1 IU/L; range, 1.04 to 21 IU/L)(P = .001 and P = .007, respectively). Surprisingly, we found significantly lower LH in the group of men with TGCC (median, 3.6 IU/L; range, 1.12 to 11.9 IU/L) than in healthy men (median, 4.7 IU/L; range, 1.3 to 11.9 IU/L) (P = .01). We could not detect any differences between men with testicular cancer and men with malignant lymphomas and healthy men with regard to serum levels of testosterone, SHBG, and estradiol. Men with testicular cancer who had increased hCG levels had significantly lower LH and significantly higher testosterone and estradiol than those without detectable hCG levels. CONCLUSION: Spermatogenesis is already impaired in men with testicular cancer before orchiectomy. Neither local suppression of spermatogenesis by tumor pressure nor a general cancer effect seems to fully explain this impairment. The most likely explanation is preexisting impairment of spermatogenesis in the contralateral testis in men with testicular cancer. The question of whether also a pre-existing Leydig cell dysfunction is present in men with testicular cancer could not be answered in this study because the tumor seems to have a direct effect on the Leydig cells. Men with testicular cancer had low LH values as compared with controls. We speculate that increased intratesticular level of hCG also in men without measurable serum hCG may play a role by exerting LH-like effects on the Leydig cells, causing increased testosterone and estrogen levels and low LH values in the blood. (+info)
Effects of regular walking on cardiovascular risk factors and body composition in normoglycemic women and women with type 2 diabetes.
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OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of a 12-week walking program on body composition and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women with type 2 diabetes and in normoglycemic women with first-degree diabetic relatives. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: There were 11 postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes and 20 normoglycemic women of similar age and BMI who were asked to walk 1 h per day on 5 days each week for 12 weeks. Fitness (estimated VO2max) was assessed with a 1.6-km walking test; body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; and sex hormone, metabolic, and lipid concentrations were measured in serum. RESULTS: After 12 weeks, estimated VO2max improved in both groups (P < 0.005). In the diabetic women, BMI and fat content of the upper body and android waist region decreased (P < 0.05). Concentrations of fasting blood glucose (P < 0.05) HbAlc (P < 0.05), total cholesterol (P < 0.005), and LDL cholesterol (P < 0.05) decreased, while HDL cholesterol and sex hormones were unchanged. In contrast, normoglycemic women failed to lose body fat after 12 weeks of exercise in a walking program. However, their HbAlc, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, sex hormone-binding globulin, and total testosterone concentrations decreased (P < 0.05). On pooling the data and including diabetes as a categorical grouping variable, stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that the change in centralized body fat, but not the change in VO2max, was related to change in fasting blood glucose. CONCLUSIONS: Twelve weeks of walking increased the fitness of diabetic and normoglycemic women. Improvement of fasting blood glucose was related to the loss of centralized body fat rather than to improved fitness. (+info)
The effect of chronic treatment with GH on gonadal function in men with isolated GH deficiency.
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Eleven adult males, previously submitted to neurosurgery because of a pituitary lesion (three with craniopharyngioma, three with clinically non-functioning adenoma and five with macroprolactinoma) were treated with recombinant GH for 12 months after the diagnosis of GH deficiency was made. Circulating FSH, LH, prolactin, testosterone, 17 beta-estradiol (E2), dehyroepiandrosterone (DHEA-S), androstenedione. 17-OH-progesterone (17OHP), IFG-I, and steroid hormone-binding protein (SHBG) levels were assayed before and after CG test at study entry and 6 and 12 months after GH treatment. A significant increase in plasma IGF-I levels was obtained after 6 and 12 months of GH treatment. In addition, CG-stimulated, but not baseline, testosterone levels showed a significant increase after 6 and 12 months of GH treatment when compared with study entry (9.6 +/- 0.5 and 9.9 +/- 0.5 vs 7.9 +/- 0.5 ng/ml; P < 0.05). Baseline, but not CG-stimulated, serum 17OHP levels were significantly increased only after 12 months of GH treatment (1.7 +/- 0.1 vs 1.4 +/- 0.1 ng/ml; P < 0.05). No significant difference was found as far as both basal and CG-stimulated E2, androstenedione, DHEA-S and SHBG were concerned. With regards to the semen analysis, only seminal plasma volume was significantly increased after 12 months of GH treatment (2.9 +/- 0.3 vs 1.7 +/- 0.3 ml; P < 0.05). No significant change in sperm count, motility and abnormal forms was observed. These data show that GH treatment displays a clear-cut effect upon Leydig cell function and increases the production of seminal plasma volume in fertile adult males with isolated GH deficiency. (+info)
Intramuscular injection of testosterone undecanoate for the treatment of male hypogonadism: phase I studies.
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OBJECTIVE: In the search for long-acting testosterone preparations suited for substitution therapy of hypogonadal men, testosterone undecanoate (TU) dissolved in either tea seed oil or castor oil was investigated. DESIGN: In study I, 1000 mg TU in tea seed oil (125 mg/ml) were injected in equal parts into the gluteal muscles of seven hypogonadal men. In study II, 1000 mg TU in castor oil (250 mg/ml) were injected into one gluteal muscle of 14 patients. RESULTS: In comparison with published data on testosterone enanthate, most widely used for i.m. injections, the kinetic profiles of both TU preparations showed extended half-lives and serum levels not exceeding the upper limit of normal. The castor oil preparation had a longer half-life than TU in tea seed oil (33.9+/-4.9 vs 20.9+/-6.0 days (mean pm S.E.M.)). CONCLUSION: The longer half-life and the smaller injection volume make TU in castor oil a strong candidate for further applications in substitution therapy and in trials for male contraception. (+info)
Testicular function after cytotoxic chemotherapy: evidence of Leydig cell insufficiency.
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PURPOSE: To evaluate testicular function in men after treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We measured testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in 209 men after treatment with mechlorethamine, vinblastine, procarbazine, and prednisone, hybrid chemotherapy, or high-dose chemotherapy and in 54 healthy age-matched controls. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 38 years (range, 19 to 68 years), and all patients had received chemotherapy between 1 and 22 years previously. Patients had significantly higher mean LH (7.9 v 4.1 IU/L; P < .0001) and FSH levels (18.8 v 3.1 IU/L; P < .0001) than controls. There was no significant difference in mean total testosterone level between the patients and controls, but there was a trend toward a lower mean testosterone/SHBG ratio in the patients (0.63 v 0.7; P = .08). Analysis of the hormonal parameters using a model that allowed for the effects of increasing age on testicular function showed evidence of significant recovery of gonadal function in the first 10 years after treatment. Fifty-two percent of patients had LH levels at or above the upper limit of normal, and 32% of patients had increased LH with testosterone levels in the lower half of the normal range, suggesting a degree of Leydig cell impairment. CONCLUSION: In a significant proportion of men, there is good evidence of Leydig cell dysfunction after cytotoxic chemotherapy. The clinical significance of this Leydig cell dysfunction is not clear, but some of these men may benefit from testosterone replacement. Further studies are warranted. (+info)
Are circulating leptin and luteinizing hormone synchronized in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome?
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Animal and human studies suggest that leptin modulates hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis functions. Leptin may stimulate gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) release from the hypothalamus and luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion from the pituitary. A synchronicity of LH and leptin pulses has been described in healthy women, suggesting that leptin probably also regulates the episodic secretion of LH. In some pathological conditions, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), LH-leptin interactions are not known. The aim of the present investigation was to assess the episodic fluctuations of circulating LH and leptin in PCOS patients compared to regularly menstruating women. Six PCOS patients and six normal cycling (NC) women of similar age and body mass index (BMI) were studied. To assess episodic hormone secretion, blood samples were collected at 10-min intervals for 6 h. LH and leptin concentrations were measured in all samples. For pulse analysis the cluster algorithm was used. To detect an interaction between LH and leptin pulses, an analysis of copulsatility was employed. LH concentrations were significantly higher in the PCOS group in comparison to NC women, however serum leptin concentrations and leptin pulse characteristics for PCOS patients did not differ from NC women. A strong synchronicity between LH and leptin pulses was observed in NC women; 11 coincident leptin pulses were counted with a phase shift of 0 min (P = 0.027), 18 pulses with a phase shift of -1 (P = 0.025) and 24 pulses with a phase shift of -2 (P = 0.028). PCOS patients also exhibited a synchronicity between LH and leptin pulses but weaker (only 20 of 39 pulses) and with a phase shift greater than in normal women, leptin pulses preceding LH pulses by 20 min (P = 0.0163). These results demonstrate that circulating leptin and LH are synchronized in normal women and patients with PCOS. The real significance of the apparent copulsatility between LH and leptin must be elucidated, as well as the mechanisms that account for the ultradian leptin release. (+info)
Oestradiol and sex hormone-binding globulin in premenopausal and post-menopausal meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans.
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Endogenous oestradiol is strongly associated with breast cancer risk but its determinants are poorly understood. To test the hypothesis that vegetarians have lower plasma oestradiol and higher sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) than meat-eaters we assayed samples from 640 premenopausal women (153 meat-eaters, 382 vegetarians, 105 vegans) and 457 post-menopausal women (223 meat-eaters, 196 vegetarians, 38 vegans). Vegetarians and vegans had lower mean body mass indices (BMI) and lower plasma cholesterol concentrations than meat-eaters, but there were no statistically significant differences between meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in pre- or post-menopausal plasma concentrations of oestradiol or SHBG. Before adjusting for BMI there were small differences in the direction expected, with the vegetarians and vegans having higher SHBG and lower oestradiol (more noticeable amongst post-menopausal women) than the meat-eaters. These small differences were essentially eliminated by adjusting for BMI. Thus this study implies that the relatively low BMI of vegetarians and vegans does cause small changes in SHBG and in post-menopausal oestradiol, but that the composition of vegetarian diets may not have any additional effects on these hormones. (+info)