BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Primary hypothyroidism may be associated with ovarian enlargement and/ or cyst formation. We evaluated the effect of thyroid hormone replacement therapy on hormonal changes, ovarian volume and sonographic appearance. DESIGN AND SETTING Open, prospective study of women admitted to university gynecology clinic. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study included 26 patients with...

Low concentrations of endogenous androgens have been linked with insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. Men with diabetes have been reported to have lower serum testosterone concentration than non-diabetic men; however, there has never been a large study. The aim of this study was to investigate if endogenous androgen concentration is certainly lower in a relatively large number of Japanese pa...

BACKGROUND Hypogonadism is frequently diagnosed based on total testosterone (TT) levels alone. However, 99% of testosterone is bound to the sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) with only 1% free testosterone. Alternative assessment methods consist of assay of free testosterone (FT) or bioavailable testosterone (BT) by equilibrium dialysis, calculation of FT and BT through the Vermeulen equations...

INTRODUCTION Statins belong to the most commonly used medicines worldwide. They affect cholesterol synthesis and thus they may suppress steroidogenesis. Our aim was to evaluate whether the use of statins is associated with the concentration of sex hormones.Material and methods/Results: In a population sample of men (n = 237) we found that subjects receiving statins had significantly lower conce...

INTRODUCTION Obesity is associated with reduced testosterone and worsened erectile and sexual function in men. Weight loss improves these outcomes. High protein diets potentially offer anthropometric and metabolic benefits, but their effects on reproductive and sexual outcomes is not known. AIM To examine the long-term effects of weight loss with a higher protein or carbohydrate diet on testo...

The effects of testosterone on functional recovery in stroke patients have not previously been studied. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of pre-rehabilitation serum testosterone levels on functional recovery in male stroke patients. In total, 111 male stroke patients admitted to our department were enrolled in the study (age: 74 ± 10 years, days from stroke onset: 36 ± 14 d...

Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) in men is defined as ‘a clinical and biochemical syndrome, associated with advancing age and characterised by typical symptoms and a deficiency in serum testosterone levels’. Terms like ‘male climacterium’, ‘andropause’, or the ‘male menopause’ are misnomers of the condition, and their use is outdated. The testosterone deficiency may adversely affect the function o...

BACKGROUND Opioid induced depression of sex hormones is a common finding in chronic pain patients receiving long-term opioids by oral, parenteral and even intrathecal routes of administration. The hypothalamic suppression by opioids leads to a hypogonadal state with low testosterone levels in males and subsequent low bone mineral density (BMD). METHODS We have studied the effects of intrathec...

Elaboration of costly sexual traits can reduce investment in other aspects of reproduction, such as parental care or intrasexual competition, which may lead to the evolution of alternative mating tactics. In house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus), less elaborately ornamented (dull) males tend to dominate more elaborated (redder) males, but redder males pair earlier and invest more in parental car...