Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The presence of glandular breast tissue in males around puberty, pubertal gynaecomastia, is a very common (40–60%) condition although the aetiology behind is poorly understood. It is generally accepted that pubertal gynaecomastia is caused by an excess of estrogens and/or a deficit of androgens. However, other hormones such as prolactin, GH and IGF1 may also affect ductal growth of the breast.Design: A cross-sectional study of 518 heal...

Objective: Recent publications showing unexpectedly early breast development in American girls created debate worldwide. However, secular trend analyses are often limited by poor data comparability among studies done by different researchers in different time periods and populations. Here, we present new European data, systematically collected from the same region and by one research group at the beginning and end of the recent 15 year period.Methods: Tw...

Testosterone (T) is excreted in urine as water soluble glucuronidated and sulphatated conjugates. The ability to glucuronidate T and other steroids depends on a number of different glucuronidases (UGT) of which UGT2B17 is essential. The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of UGT2B17 genotypes on urinary excretion of androgen metabolites in pubertal boys.Study design: A clinical study of 116 healthy boys aged 8 to 19 years. UGT2B17</i...

Context: Potency of the FSH-pathway varies according to polymorphisms in the promoter of the gene encoding the FSH beta subunit (FSHB −211 G>T, rs10835638) and in the gene encoding the FSH receptor (FSHR 2039 A>G, rs6166). A recent study suggested that carriers of the combination of FSHB GG and FSHR AA had the most reproductive ‘fit’ phenotype (higher serum FSH and a more sensitive FSH receptor). In pre-pubertal girls...

Background: Little is known about the possible deleterious effects of phthalate exposure on endogenous sex steroid levels in childrenDesign: A longitudinal study.Materials and methods: 168 Healthy children (84 girls) were examined every 6 months for 5 years, with pubertal staging, measurements of serum levels of DHEAS and Δ4-androstenedione (Adione) and repetitive longitudinal morning urinary measurements of 14 phthalate metab...