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Male hypogonadism with a deficiency of testosterone is a relatively common disorder in clinical practice and has significant effects on the fertility, sexual function, and general health of affected men.
Hypogonadism can occur for a number of reasons, some relatively common and others rare. Certain men have hypogonadism from birth while others may develop this condition later in life. Types of hypogonadism include: - Primary hypogonadism (testicular failure) - Low serum testosterone levels with gonadotropins (FSH, LH) above the normal range. Klinefelters, surgical removal, bilateral mumps related orchitis, toxic damage by alcohol, heavy metals or chemotherapy.
- Secondary (gonadotropin) hypogonadism - Caused by a pituitary failure or pituitary-hypothalamic injury from tumors, trauma, or radiation; characterized by low serum testosterone levels, but with gonadotropins in the normal or low range
Signs & Symptoms
- Impotence
- Decreased sexual desire
- Fatigue and loss of energy
- Mood depression
- Regression of secondary sexual characteristics (growth and maturation of prostate, seminal vesicles, penis, and scrotum; the development of male hair distribution, including facial, pubic, chest, axillary hair; laryngeal enlargement; vocal chord thickening; alterations in body musculature; fat distribution)
- Osteoporosis.
Treatment & Prevention
In men with clinical symptoms of primary or secondary hypogonadism, the deficiency of testosterone can be treated effectively with currently available preparations.
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Signs, symptoms & indicators of Hypogonadism, Male:
Conditions that suggest Hypogonadism, Male:
Risk factors for Hypogonadism, Male:
KEY | | Weak or unproven link |  | | Strong or generally accepted link |  | | Proven definite or direct link |
GLOSSARY
Axillary
Pertaining to the region of the armpits.
Chemotherapy
A treatment of disease by any chemicals. Used most often to refer to the chemical treatments used to combat cancer cells. Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles: a treatment period followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on. Most anticancer drugs are given by injection into a blood vessel (IV); some are given by mouth. Chemotherapy is a systemic therapy, meaning that the drugs enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body. Usually, a patient has chemotherapy as an outpatient (at the hospital, at the doctor's office, or at home). However, depending on which drugs are given and the patient's general health, a short hospital stay may be needed.
Larynx (Laryngeal, Voice Box)
The short passageway shaped like a triangle that is just below the pharyx in the neck.
Mumps
An acute infectious disease, caused by a paramyxovirus, and most common in children. Although it usually infects the parotid glands, and is often only a mild condition, it can spread to the testes or ovaries and cause serious problems, particularly when contracted by unresistant adults. A mild child's infection that is not properly monitored holds the potential for pancreatic or meningeal complications.
Orchitis
Inflammation of the testes, manifested by swelling and tenderness, usually infectious, sometimes the result of trauma.
Osteoporosis
A disease in which bone tissue becomes porous and brittle. The disease primarily affects postmenopausal women.
Pituitary (Pituitary Gland)
The pituitary gland is a small (half-inch), bean-shaped organ that hangs down from the lower center of the brain on a stalk attached to another gland, the hypothalamus. Weighing less than one gram, the pituitary gland is often called the "master gland" since it controls the secretion of hormones by other endocrine glands. It regulates many body activities, and is partitioned into front and back lobes. The front lobe is stimulated by the hypothalamus, and produces any one of six different hormones that in turn stimulate the thyroid, adrenal and reproductive glands, and also breast milk production.
Prostate
The prostate gland in men that surrounds the neck of the bladder and the urethra and produces a secretion that liquefies coagulated semen.
Seminal Vesicles
These are a couple of spongy glands, 1.5 to 2 inches long, that secrete high-sugar, acidic, and thick, ropy colloid into the ductus deferens (containing sperm from the testes) during ejaculation. The two fluids empty into the prostate, where they are mixed with alkaline prostatic fluids to form semen.
Serum
The cell-free fluid of the bloodstream. It appears in a test tube after the blood clots and is often used in expressions relating to the levels of certain compounds in the blood stream.
Testicles (Testicle, Testicular)
Egg-shaped sex glands in the scrotum that secrete male hormones such as testosterone, and produce sperm.
Testosterone
The principal male sex hormone that induces and maintains the changes that take place in males at puberty. In men, the testicles continue to produce testosterone throughout life, though there is some decline with age. A naturally occurring androgenic hormone.
Last updated: Sep 28, 2008
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