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Evaluation of sex hormone profile and semen parameters in acromegalic male patients

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the changes in semen quality and bioavailable testosterone concentrations in acromegalic male patients according to their disease activity and compare them with patients with non-functional pituitary adenoma (NFA) and healthy controls (HC).

Methods

Twenty-four acromegalic patients with active disease, 22 acromegalic patients in remission, 10 HCs, and 10 patients with NFA were included.

Results

Total and calculated bioavailable testosterone concentrations were lower in patients with pituitary disease. Patients with acromegaly had more severely impaired total testosterone levels and semen parameters in comparison to HCs and patients with NFA. The degree of impairment was more prominent in acromegalic patients with active disease than acromegalic patients in remission. Acromegalic patients in remission had residual impairments in both semen quality and testosterone concentrations. Patients with NFA had the lowest concentrations of calculated bioavailable testosterone, followed by acromegalic patients with active disease and acromegalic patients in remission. Increasing growth hormone (GH) levels were found to be associated with both more severely impaired semen quality and androgen concentrations.

Conclusion

Growth hormone hypersecretion can disturb reproductive biology and thereof semen quality. The reduction in semen quality and androgen levels may not fully recover upon disease control. Clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of impaired semen parameters and reduced total/bioavailable levels in acromegalic patients, especially in the setting of active disease.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Research Fund of the Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey, project number TTU-2017-27077.

Funding

The study was supported by the Research Fund of the Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, project number TTU-2017-27077.

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Author notes

  1. C. Sulu and M. K. Yilmaz have equally contributed to this article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    M. K. Yilmaz

  2. Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, Department of Internal Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey

    C. Sulu, H. M. Ozkaya & P. Kadioglu

  3. Department of Urology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey

    A. Kadioglu & M. Ortac

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  1. M. K. Yilmaz
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  4. A. Kadioglu
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Contributions

All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, and/or acquisition of data, and/or analysis and interpretation of data; participated in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, and gave final approval of the version to be submitted.

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Correspondence to P. Kadioglu.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Yilmaz, M.K., Sulu, C., Ozkaya, H.M. et al. Evaluation of sex hormone profile and semen parameters in acromegalic male patients. J Endocrinol Invest 44, 2799–2808 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-021-01593-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-021-01593-6

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