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THE HORMONE RESPONSE TO A SYNTHETIC ANDROGEN (MESTEROLONE) IN OLIGOSPERMIA
Author(s) -
JACKAMAN F. R.,
ANSELL I. D.,
GHANADIAN R.,
McLOUGHLIN P. V. A.,
LEWIS J. G.,
CHISHOLM G. D.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1977.tb02020.x
Subject(s) - oligospermia , medicine , endocrinology , testosterone (patch) , follicle stimulating hormone , luteinizing hormone , sperm , androgen , sperm motility , semen , semen analysis , hormone , chemistry , andrology , biology , infertility , male infertility , pregnancy , genetics
SUMMARY Forty subfertile men with oligospermia were treated with a synthetic androgen (Mesterolone). The effect of the drug was evaluated by measuring serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and analysing the semen before and after treatment. The results demonstrated that in twenty‐three patients treated for 6‐9 months there was a significant decrease in serum testosterone ( P <0.01); the means ± SEM before and after treatment were 17.05 ± 0.95 and 14.7 ± 0.95 (nmol/1 serum) respectively. There was a pronounced increase in serum LH ( P <0.01), the values being 2.73 ± 0.26 and 3.61 ± 0.3 (u/l) respectively. However, no significant difference was found in serum FSH before and after treatment. The sperm concentration showed a variable response to treatment. In twenty‐one patients there was either no change or worsening in the sperm concentration, whereas in nineteen patients an improvement was observed. The analysis of variance of sperm concentration and motility for the periods before and after treatment, for all the patients, showed no significant difference in the sperm concentration F 1.145 =2.82 ( P = 0.1). Various drugs have been used to improve the seminal quality in oligospermic males in whom no obvious cause can be found. These drugs have included human gonadotrophins, clomiphene, corticosteroids and androgens (testosterone, methyl‐testosterone, fluoxymesterone and Mesterolone). Mesterolone (Proviron) is a synthetic steroid (17β‐hydroxy‐1α‐methyl‐5α‐androstan‐3‐one) which is thought to contribute to the androgen pool but not to be recognized by the hypothalamus/pituitary system and not to suppress endogenous androgen production through reducing pituitary gonadotrophins (Petry et al ., 1968; Gerhards et al ., 1968). Improvement in the quality of semen by Mesterolone has already been reported (Schellen & Beek, 1972; Somerville & Hendry, 1972; Barwin et al ., 1973) but there has been no detailed study of serum gonadotrophin and testosterone levels during a clinical trial with this drug. This study was designed to investigate the effect of Mesterolone on (1) the semen analysis and (2) the serum hormone values (FSH, LH and testosterone) during treatment.