Human Reproduction, Vol 12, 1657-1662, Copyright © 1997 by Oxford University Press
RA Anderson, AM Wallace, AT Kicman and FC Wu
Administration of supraphysiological doses of testosterone to normal men
causes inhibition of spermatogenesis, but while most become azoospermic,
30-55% maintain a low rate of spermatogenesis. We have investigated whether
there are differences in endogenous androgen production, of testicular and
adrenal origin, which may be related to the degree of suppression of
spermatogenesis. Thirty-three healthy Caucasian men were given weekly i.m.
injections of 200 mg testosterone oenanthate (TE), 18 became azoospermic,
while 15 remained oligozoospermic. Urinary excretion of epitestosterone, a
specific testicular product, was reduced to <10% of pretreatment values,
with no differences between the groups. Similar results were obtained for
other markers of testicular steroidogenesis. Urinary and plasma adrenal
androgens were also reduced during TE treatment: a statistically
significant decrease in both (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05 respectively)
was seen in the azoospermic but not oligozoospermic responders. These
results suggest that testicular steroidogenesis is decreased to <10% by
the administration of supraphysiological doses of exogenous testosterone.
Differences in the degree of ongoing steroidogenesis in the testis do not
appear to account for incomplete suppression of spermatogenesis, thus
differences in androgen metabolism may underlie this heterogeneous
response. A small but significant reduction in secretion of adrenal
androgens was also detectable, the relevance of which is unclear.
ARTICLES
Comparison between testosterone oenanthate-induced azoospermia and oligozoospermia in a male contraceptive study. IV. Suppression of endogenous testicular and adrenal androgens
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Edinburgh, Centre for Reproductive Biology, UK.
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