I. T Huhtaniemi

Contraceptive efficacy of testosterone-induced azoospermia in normal men

0.6). a higher mean of maximal serum 17-estradiol levels (560 versus I78 pg/mL). a shorter duration of menotropin treatment (7 versus I I days). and fewer ampules of monotropin used (20 versus 37 ampules/cycle) in metoclopramide-treated cycles as compared with control cycles, respectively. Serum prolactin levels reached a maximum of 172 ng/mL within I h after metoclopramide administration and declined to normal range within 6 h. These results suggest that intermittent increased prolactin secretion may augment ovarian response to gonadotropins.

Age-associated changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular function in middle-aged and older men are modified by weight change and lifestyle factors: longitudinal results from the European Male Ageing Study.

OBJECTIVE Health and lifestyle factors are associated with variations in serum testosterone levels in ageing men. However, it remains unclear how age-related changes in testosterone may be attenuated by lifestyle modifications. The objective was to investigate the longitudinal relationships between changes in health and lifestyle factors with changes in hormones of the reproductive endocrine axis in ageing men. DESIGN A longitudinal survey of 2736 community-dwelling men aged 40-79 years at baseline recruited from eight centres across Europe. Follow-up assessment occurred mean (±S.D.) 4.4±0.3 years later. RESULTS Paired testosterone results were available for 2395 men. Mean (±S.D.) annualised hormone changes were as follows: testosterone -0.1±0.95  nmol/l; free testosterone (FT) -3.83±16.8  pmol/l; sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) 0.56±2.5  nmol/l and LH 0.08±0.57  U/l. Weight loss was associated with a proportional increase, and weight gain a proportional decrease, in testosterone and SHBG. FT showed a curvilinear relationship to weight change; only those who gained or lost ≥15% of weight showed a significant change (in the same direction as testosterone). Smoking cessation was associated with a greater decline in testosterone than being a non-smoker, which was unrelated to weight change. Changes in number of comorbid conditions or physical activity were not associated with significant alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular (HPT) axis function. CONCLUSIONS Body weight and lifestyle factors influence HPT axis function in ageing. Weight loss was associated with a rise, and weight gain a fall, in testosterone, FT and SHBG. Weight management appears to be important in maintaining circulating testosterone in ageing men, and obesity-associated changes in HPT axis hormones are reversible following weight reduction.

Mass spectrometry and immunoassay: how to measure steroid hormones today and tomorrow

The recent onslaught of mass spectrometry (MS) to measurements of steroid hormones, including demands that they should be the only acceptable method, has confused clinicians and scientists who have relied for more than 40 years on a variety of immunoassay (IA) methods in steroid hormone measurements. There is little doubt that MS methods with their superior specificity will be the future method of choice in many clinical and research applications of steroid hormone measurement. However, the majority of steroid measurements are currently, and will continue to be, carried out using various types of IAs for several reasons, including their technical ease, cost and availability of commercial reagents. Speedy replacement of all IAs with MS is an unrealistic and unnecessary goal, because the availability of MS measurements is limited by cost, need of expensive equipment, technical demands and lack of commercial applications. Furthermore, IAs have multiple well-known advantages that vindicate their continuing use. The purpose of this article is to elucidate the advantages and limitations of the MS and IA techniques from two angles, i.e. promotion of MS and defence of IA. The purpose of the text is to give the reader an unbiased view about the current state and future trends of steroid analysis and to help him/her choose the correct assay method to serve his/her diagnostic and research needs.

Scavenger receptor of class B expressed by osteoblastic cells are implicated in the uptake of cholesteryl ester and estradiol from LDL and HDL3.

Lipoproteins transport many vitamins and hormones that have been shown to be necessary for bone formation. However, the metabolism of LDL and HDL3 by bone‐forming osteoblastic cells remains unknown. Here we report that osteoblastic cells express scavenger receptors of class B that are implicated in the uptake of cholesterol and estradiol from LDL and HDL3.

The Effect of Musculoskeletal Pain on Sexual Function in Middle-aged and Elderly European Men: Results from the European Male Ageing Study

Objective. To determine whether musculoskeletal pain was associated with impaired sexual function in a population sample of middle-aged and older men. Methods. The European Male Ageing Study (EMAS), a multicenter population-based study of men aged 40–79 years, was used to investigate this hypothesis. A questionnaire asked about the presence and duration of musculoskeletal pain, allowing subjects to be classified into 1 of 3 groups: those reporting chronic widespread pain (CWP), those reporting pain but not CWP (“some pain”), and those with no pain. Subjects completed a sexual function questionnaire from which 3 domains were considered: overall sexual functioning (OSF), sexual functioning-related distress (SFD), and change in sexual functioning compared to 1 year ago (CSF). Results. A total of 3206 men [mean age 60 (SD 11) yrs] had complete data on pain status. Of these, 8.7% had CWP and 50.34% had “some pain.” Pain was associated with lower OSF, and higher SFD and CSF scores. After adjustment for putative confounding factors, the associations became non-significant with OSF and CSF but persisted for SFD. Associations between pain status and some items within the sexual functioning domains, including frequency of sexual intercourse, frequency of morning erections, sexual desire, and orgasm were also significant, although these associations varied by pain status. Conclusion. Musculoskeletal pain is associated with several aspects of sexual functioning. These relationships differ depending on the extent of the pain (chronic or not) and are also largely confounded by other health-related factors, primarily depression.

Frailty Is Associated with Impaired Quality of Life and Falls in Middle-Aged and Older European Men.

OBJECTIVES Adapt a measure of frailty for use in a cohort study of European men and explore relationships with age, health related quality of life and falls. DESIGN Longitudinal cohort study. SETTING 8 European centers. PARTICIPANTS 3047 men aged 40-79 participating in the European Male Ageing Study (EMAS). MEASUREMENTS Frailty was assessed using an adaptation of the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria. Health related quality of life was evaluated using the Rand Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire which comprises both mental and physical component scores. Self reported falls in the preceding 12 months were recorded at 2-year follow-up. RESULTS 78 men (2.6%) were classified as frail (≥3 criteria) and 821 (26.9%) as prefrail (1-2 criteria). The prevalence of frailty increased from 0.1% in men aged 40-49 up to 6.8% in men aged 70-79. Compared to robust men, both prefrail and frail men had lower health related quality of life. Frailty was more strongly associated with the physical than mental subscales of the SF-36. Frailty was associated with higher risk of falls OR (95% CI) 2.92 (1.52, 5.59). CONCLUSIONS Frailty, assessed by the EMAS criteria, increased in prevalence with age and was related to poorer health related quality of life and higher risk of falls in middle-aged and older European men. These criteria may help to identify a vulnerable subset of older men.

Re: Frailty and sexual health in older European men

PURPOSE The use of anabolic androgenic steroids has not been traditionally discussed in mainstream medicine. With the increased diagnosis of hypogonadism a heterogeneous population of men is now being evaluated. In this larger patient population the existence of anabolic steroid induced hypogonadism, whether transient or permanent, should now be considered. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed an initial retrospective database analysis of all 6,033 patients who sought treatment for hypogonadism from 2005 to 2010. An anonymous survey was subsequently distributed in 2012 to established patients undergoing testosterone replacement therapy. RESULTS Profound hypogonadism, defined as testosterone 50 ng/dl or less, was identified in 97 men (1.6%) in the large retrospective cohort initially reviewed. The most common etiology was prior anabolic androgenic steroid exposure, which was identified in 42 men (43%). Because of this surprising data, we performed an anonymous followup survey of our current hypogonadal population of 382 men with a mean±SD age of 49.2±13.0 years. This identified 80 patients (20.9%) with a mean age of 40.4±8.4 years who had prior anabolic androgenic steroid exposure. Hypogonadal men younger than 50 years were greater than 10 times more likely to have prior anabolic androgenic steroid exposure than men older than 50 years (OR 10.16, 95% CI 4.90-21.08). Prior anabolic androgenic steroid use significantly correlated negatively with education level (ρ=-0.160, p=0.002) and number of children (ρ=-0.281, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Prior anabolic androgenic steroid use is common in young men who seek treatment for symptomatic hypogonadism and anabolic steroid induced hypogonadism is the most common etiology of profound hypogonadism. These findings suggest that it is necessary to refocus the approach to evaluation and treatment paradigms in young hypogonadal men.