Gonadal dysfunction in male patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis Serum levels of DHT, testosterone, androstenedione and zinc

• Published in: Journal of Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy Vol. 18; no. 5; pp. 473 - 478
• Main Authors: Matsushita, Yoshiki, Morii, Hirotoshi, Moriguchi, Hideyo, Okamoto, Teruo, Nishizawa, Yoshiki, Kikunami, Kiichiro, Oda, Motoo, Inoue, Takashi, Hasegawa, Koichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy 31.10.1985
• Subjects: androstenedione; DHT; HD patients; testosterone; Zn
• ISSN: 0911-5889; 1884-6211
• DOI: 10.4009/jsdt1985.18.473

Serum 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), testosterone (T), androstenedione (A), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and prolactin (PRL) were measured by radioimmunoassay, and serum zinc by the atomic absorption method, in 25 male patients with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis. DHT, T and Zn levels were significantly lower, while A was significantly higher in dialysed patients than in control subjects. T was correlated with DHT in the patients. When the duration of hemodialysis became longer, T, LH and FSH levels showed a tendency to be increased, but to a level lower than normal. There were no significant correlation between Zn, or duration of hemodialysis, and A/T+DHT, but there was a significant correlation between T/DHT and duration of hemodialysis. These findings may indicate that not only T but also DHT were responsible for gonadal dysfunction in male patients with chronic renal failure, that A to T conversion was diminished, and that no possible role of Zn in the metabolism of testosterone was found.