Endocrine Abstracts

Breast development in boys and men, gynaecomastia, is a common condition. The incidence peaks three times through life: neonatally in the first weeks after birth; pubertally, usually around genital stage 3 to 4 and in adulthood with increasing incidence after the age of 50 years.Using a standardized diagnostic approach a cause for gynaecomastia developed in adulthood can be detected in the majority of men, and gynaecomastia may be the first presenting sy...

Objective: Growth hormone (GH) activity might be implicated in male reproductive function. One previous study has suggested significantly reduced semen quality in untreated acromegalic patients due to both reduced sperm counts and motility.Design and methods: A retrospective study comprising 10 uncontrolled hypogonadal acromegalic patients (median age 29y) who delivered semen for cryopreservation before initiation of testosterone therapy. Semen ...

Introduction: Gonadotropins from the pituitary gland are essential for testosterone production and spermatogenesis. However, little is known about semen quality in patients with adult onset gonadotropin insufficiency.Aim: To investigate semen quality in men with adult onset hypogonadotropic hypogonadism requiring testosterone replacement therapy.Patients and method: A single center study comprising all hypogonadal men with pituitar...

Introduction: A common genetic polymorphism in the GH receptor (GHR) is deletion of the entire exon 3 sequence (GHRd3 isoform). The GHRd3 isoform seems to be more sensitive with increased downstream GH signalling in activated exon 3 deleted receptor dimers (GHRd3/d3) compared to full length receptor dimers (GHRfl/fl). Presence of the GHRd3 isoform might be associated to pre- and postnatal growth and pubertal development in boys, although controversy exists. The aim was to inve...

Context: Obesity is accompanied by blunted GH secretion but relatively normal serum IGF-I levels, which suggests increased GH sensitivity. This, however, remains to be tested at the level of GH signaling in human subjects.Objective: To compare the effects of an acute intravenous GH bolus in obese vs normal weight subjects on GH signaling pathways in adipose and muscle tissue, substrate metabolism and insulin sensitivity.Subjects an...

Background: GH secretion and action change with age in adult human subjects, and this play an important role in substrate metabolism in aging subjects. Targeted disruption of the GH receptor in mice extends longevity, and this is associated with decreased expression of apoptosis-related genes including caspase-9 (CASP9) in skeletal muscle.Aim: To study DNA methylation of putative GH target genes in skeletal muscle of adult male subjects in relation to bo...

Introduction: The UGT2B17 gene encodes a glucuronidase which is important for the urinary excretion of testosterone. Recent studies have shown that a common deletion polymorphism in UGT2B17 is strongly associated with significant lower levels of excreted urinary testosterone in men. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of the UGT2B17 gene polymorphism and the dosages of testosterone substitution in male patients with frank hypogonadism.<p class="a...

Background: The impact of GH on insulin sensitivity is ambiguous since both long standing GH-deficiency as well as acute GH exposure and prolonged GH-excess are associated with insulin resistance.Aim: To test the hypotheses that the insulin antagonistic effect of GH i) is dynamic and depend on ambient GH levels and ii) subsides gradually with time after GH exposure.Methods: Eight GHDA participated in a randomised crossover study. E...

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated a high overall prevalence of testicular adrenal rest tumors (TART) in adults with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), whereas little is known about the prevalence in children. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of TART according to age and genotype.Design: Retrospective study, tertiary University centre.Patients and methods: In 47 male patients (age 2.6–40.3 yea...

Context and objective: During fasting growth hormone (GH) promotes lipolysis, attenuates glucose oxidation and preserves protein. Previous studies have primarily been conducted in GH deficient patients or during somatostatin-suppression of GH secretion. We aimed to study the impact of the fasting associated increase in GH without concomitant changes in other hormones, by the means of GH receptor (GHR) blockade.Design: Ten healthy young men participated i...