Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Acromegaly is a systemic disease frequently characterized by hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, endothelial dysfunction and diseases classically associated with an increased incidence of erectile dysfunction (ED) (hypertension, dyslipidemia, impaired glucose metabolism) and premature ejaculation (prostatic disease). Furthermore, the high prevalence of ED may negatively affect ejaculatory function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ejaculatory function of ...

Introduction: Acromegaly is frequently characterized by hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, endothelial dysfunction, hypertension and impaired glucose and lipid metabolism, classically associated with impaired sexual function (SF). There are no literature data on the SF in acromegaly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the SF of patients with acromegaly.Patients and methods: Twenty-two patients (47.8±8.6 years) were enrolled into the study. Among ...

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is often associated with male hypogonadism. The role of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in MetS has not been completely clarified.To systematically analyse the relationship between androgen levels and MetS we performed a review and meta-analyses of available prospective and cross-sectional studies. A specific meta-analysis on the metabolic effects of TRT in available randomised clinical trials (RCTs) was als...

Introduction: Several studies suggested a direct relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and increased risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). An inflammatory component, mainly mediated by IL-8, has been proposed as the primary link between MetS and BPH pathogenesis. MetS, is often associated with testosterone (T) deficiency and an imbalance between the androgen and estrogen ratio characterizes BPH patients.Methods: We investigated the effects...

Introduction: Previous clinical studies on effect of statins treatment on testosterone levels have produced mixed results. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the association between statin therapy and hormonal parameters in a large series of subjects seeking medical care at our Unit for ED.Methods: A consecutive series of 3484 (mean age 51.6±13.1 years) patients with ED was studied.Several hormonal and biochemical par...

Introduction: Although it is well established that all the aspects of male reproduction are hormonally regulated, the endocrine control of the ejaculatory reflex is still not completely clarified. Sex steroids, thyroid and pituitary hormones (oxytocin and prolactin) have been proposed to control the ejaculatory process at various levels, however, only a few reports are currently available. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the contribution of testosterone, TSH and pr...

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of cardio-metabolic risk factors (hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, visceral fat accumulation) that is also associated with hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction (ED). The study was aimed at clarifying the relationships among MetS, hypogonadism, and ED, we developed an animal model of MetS.Methods: Male rabbits fed a high-fat diet (HFD), with or without testosterone (T) supplementation, were compared wit...

In male, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) have been associated, beside benign prostatic hyperplasia, to some unexpected co-morbidities, such as hypogonadism, obesity and metabolic syndrome, which are essentially characterized by an unbalance between circulating androgens and estrogens. Within the bladder, LUTS have been linked to overactivity of the RhoA/ROCK pathway. Here we investigate the effects of changing sex steroids on bladder smooth muscle. The effects of androgens...

Idiopathic central hypogonadism (ICH) is a rare and heterogeneous disease due to defects of GnRH secretion or action. Depending on the association with a normal or defective sense of smell, ICH could be respectively identified as normosmic ICH (nICH) or Kallmann’s syndrome (KS). Recent experimental evidences indicate the involvement of the new PROK2/PROKR2 pathway in GnRH neuron maturation and function and mutations affecting these two genes have been described in some IC...

One of the proposed mechanisms responsible for Diabetes mellitus (DM)-associated erectile (ED) dysfunction is overactivity of RhoA/ROCK signalling. Because statins may decrease RhoA activation, we investigated whether atorvastatin ameliorated DM-induced ED in alloxan-treated (100 mg/kg) rabbits (in vitro studies) and streptozotocin-treated (STZ, 50 mg/kg) rats (in vivo studies). A subgroup of diabetic animals received atorvastatin 5 mg/kg per daily 2 weeks before...