Bone mineral density in hypogonadal men remains low after long-term testosterone replacement.
- Author:
Kazuhiro ISHIZAKA
1
;
Masahito SUZUKI
;
Yukio KAGEYAMA
;
Kazunori KIHARA
;
Ken-Ichiro YOSHIDA
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH: Adult; Age Factors; Bone Density; drug effects; Cryptorchidism; drug therapy; Hormone Replacement Therapy; Humans; Hypogonadism; congenital; drug therapy; physiopathology; Injections, Intramuscular; Kallmann Syndrome; drug therapy; Male; Middle Aged; Reference Values; Testosterone; administration & dosage; analogs & derivatives; therapeutic use
- From: Asian Journal of Andrology 2002;4(2):117-121
- CountryChina
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
AIMIn 11 congenital hypogonadal men, the bone mineral density (BMD) values were determined to assess the effect of long-term androgen replacement therapy (ART) on skeletal integrity.
METHODSEleven congenital hypogonadal men, including 8 isolated gonadotropin deficiency patients, 2 Kallmann's syndrome and 1 vanishing testes syndrome were recruited and treated with 250 mg of testosterone enanthate intramuscularly every 4 weeks for 7-43 years (mean+/-SD: 21.5 +/-13 years). In these patients and a group of 10 healthy young men (controls), the whole and trabecular BMDs were examined at the distal end of radius by means of a peripheral quantitative computerized tomography device.
RESULTSThe whole radial BMD in hypogonadal men was significantly less in the patients than in the healthy men (498+/-115 and 725+/-134 mg/cm(3), respectively; P<0.01); the trabecular BMD was also lower in the hypogonadal men (199+/-80 and 375+/-89 mg/cm(3); P< 0.01). The whole radial BMD values in 10 of 11 hypogonadal men were at least 1 SD below the mean value for healthy young men; 2 hypogonadal men had BMD values more than 2.5 SD lower than the healthy mean. Additionally, the whole radial BMD showed a significant negative correlation with the patient's age at the initiation of ART (r = 0.748, P<0.01). The serum level of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and the urinary level of deoxypyridinoline were not significantly different between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONOsteopenia persists in the hypogonadal men after long-term ART, suggesting that such patients have a persistent defect in bone development not alleviated by androgen replacement.