Endocrine causes of impotence. Optimistic outlook for restoration of potency.

Endocrine disorders are important, potentially reversible causes of impotence. Impotence may be an early manifestation of hypopituitarism, nonfunctioning pituitary tumors, prolactin-secreting pituitary tumors, or hyperthyroidism. Treatment of these disorders, as well as many of the other endocrinopathies with which impotence may be associated, usually leads to restoration of libido and potency.

An evaluation of 10 kits for determination of human choriogonadotropin in serum.

We compared 10 commercially available radioimmunoassay kits (American Diagnostics, Becton Dickinson, BioGenex, Clinical Assays, Hybritech, Leeco, Mallinckrodt, Microanalytic, Nuclear Medical Systems, and Radioassay Systems) for determination of human choriogonadotropin (hCG), using serum pools, hCG CR119 (NIH), 2nd I.S. (who), and 1st I.

Modulation of ectopic secretion of human chorionic gonadotropin by cultured ovarian adenocarcinoma cells.

Modulation of ectopic human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) secretion by a human nontrophoblastic ovarian papillary cystadenocarcinoma cell line maintained in monolayer culture was studied. Exposure of cells to methotrexate (MTX, 0.1 microM) significantly enhanced hormone secretion while actual cell replication was decreased.

Dopaminergic regulation of prolactin and growth hormone synthesis in rat pituitary tumor cells.

The dopaminergic regulation of prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) synthesis were studied in monolayer cultures of rat pituitary tumor (GH3) cells. PRL synthesis could not be inhibited by dopamine at concentrations ranging from 10(-9) to 10(-5) M. Bromocriptine inhibited PRL synthesis only at the very high concentration of 10(-5) M, and this effect was not reversible by metoclopramide.

Hyperthyroidism and acromegaly due to a thyrotropin- and growth hormone-secreting pituitary tumor. Lack of hormonal response to bromocriptine.

A 47-year-old woman with acromegaly and hyperthyroidism was found to have an inappropriately normal serum thyrotropin level (1.5 to 2.5 microU/ml) that responded poorly to thyrotropin-releasing hormone but showed partial responsiveness to changes in circulating thyroid hormones.

Human chorionic gonadotropin stimulates proliferation of Nb 2 rat lymphoma cells.

The effects of an onco-fetal hormone, hCG, were tested on replication of Nb 2 node rat lymphoma cells, which have previously been shown to be responsive to lactogenic hormone stimulation. Cells were maintained in suspension culture in Ham's F-10 medium containing horse serum (15%) and fetal calf serum (2.5%).

Clinical, biochemical, and pathologic features of radiation-associated hyperparathyroidism.

The clinical, biochemical, and pathologic findings in 43 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) and a history of irradiation to the head or neck were compared with those found in a group of 162 patients with HPT without prior irradiation. There were no differences between the groups with regard to mean age at the time of diagnosis, male to female ratio, serum calcium, phosphorus, and parathyroid hormone concentrations; in the frequency of single parathyroid adenomas v multiglandular disease; or in associated nonthyroidal neoplasms. Asymptomatic HPT was found with greater frequency in the irradiated patients.

Pathophysiology of acromegaly.

This review discusses the pathophysiology of acromegaly. Acromegaly has been classified in this paper into distinct entities based on etiology, ultrastructural features of the pituitary, and cytogenesis. This classification has been proposed based on clinical signs, immunoperoxidase techniques, transmission electromicroscopy and immunoelectron microscopy.

Predictive value analysis of measurements of human chorionic gonadotropin, pregnancy specific beta 1-glycoprotein, placental lactogen, and cystine aminopeptidase for the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy.

The diagnostic utility of serum and urinary human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) measurements and serum measurements of pregnancy-specific beta 1-glycoprotein (PSBG), placental lactogen, and cystine aminopeptidase (CAP) was prospectively studied in 51 consecutive patients with suspected ectopic pregnancy who underwent laparoscopy or laparotomy. CAP was not detected in the sera of any patient with ectopic pregnancy. False-positive results in each assay were found in patients with intrauterine pregnancy or missed abortion.

Luteal function in hypophysectomized rhesus monkeys.

Experiments were designed to study the maintenance of corpus luteum function in the rhesus monkey. The experiments used a transfrontal microsurgical approach for total hypophysectomy. This proved to be a reliable and safe procedure for the complete removal of the pituitary gland.

A randomized prospective study of the use-effectiveness of two methods of natural family planning.

The final results of a prospective comparative study of two methods of natural family planning indicate a significant difference in the 12 month net cumulative pregnancy rates between the ovulation and symptothermal methods. These differences are on the order of two to one in favor of the symptothermal method. Pearl pregnancy rates confirm similar differentials between the two methods.

The significance of 1-131 scan dose in patients with thyroid cancer: determination of ablation: concise communication.

Twenty-four patients with differentiated thyroid cancer were studied with diagnostic I-131 neck chest scans after having undergone bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy and initial I-131 therapy with either 30- or 100-mCi doses. With an endogenous stimulation protocol, follow-up studies were performed with neck and chest scans using 2 and 10 mCi I-131. A 400% increase in sensitivity was found with a 10-mCi dose relative to a 2-mCi dose.

Anterior pituitary hormone levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with pituitary and parasellar tumors.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of growth hormone, prolactin (PRL), adrenocorticotropin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and the glycoprotein hormone alpha subunit were determined in 30 patients with pituitary and parasellar tumors. Although many of the patients had elevated hormone levels, no differentiation between patients with intrasellar tumors and those with pituitary tumors with suprasellar extension or primary suprasellar tumors could be made based upon the absolute CSF hormone concentration. A highly significant correlation between serum and CSF PRL concentrations was found (r = 0.

Benign macro-orchidism in a pubescent boy.

We report on a 12 1/2-year-old boy with bilateral testicular enlargement. After an extensive evaluation we eliminated precocious puberty, hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, X-linked mental retardation and bilateral malignant testicular neoplasms from consideration. Diagnosis was benign macro-orchidism.

Malignant Leydig cell tumor: objective tumor response to o,p'-DDD.

Leydig cell carcinoma of the testicle is a rare tumor with 16 well-documented cases in the medical literature. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy have not been successful in treating patients with metastatic disease. The patient described in this report had widely metastatic Leydig cell carcinoma associated with hypertension, hypokalemic alkalosis, and an elevated serum concentration of desoxycorticosterone.

Endocrine manifestations of histiocytosis.

Diabetes insipidus and growth retardation are the prominent endocrine manifestations of histiocytosis. Galactorrhea, hypogonadism, and panhypopituitarism are rarely associated with this disorder. To date, the vast majority of morphologic and functional studies of the pituitary and hypothalamus in affected patients indicate that histiocytic infiltration results in a hypothalamic dysfunction with a secondary partial or complete hypopituitarism.

Interrelationships of human chorionic gonadotropin, human placental lactogen, and pregnancy-specific beta 1-glycoprotein throughout normal human gestation.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), human placental lactogen (hPL), and pregnancy-specific beta 1-glycoprotein (PSBG) were measured by radioimmunoassay in 270 samples of serum from women with uncomplicated pregnancies. All three proteins were significantly correlated with each other in individual samples of serum and with the estimated trophoblastic mass during the first trimester. No significant correlation could be demonstrated between the concentrations of hCG and PSBG in maternal serum during the second or third trimesters or between the concentrations of hCG and hPL during the second trimester.

Failure of bombesin to alter anterior pituitary hormone secretion in man.

Because of the stimulating effects of bombesin on growth hormone and prolactin secretion in the rat, we have studied the effects of bombesin infusions on anterior pituitary hormone secretion in man. Biological activity of the infused bombesin was confirmed by observing a brisk increase in serum gastrin concentrations and in gastric acid secretion during the lowest dose of bombesin infused. We could demonstrate no effect of bombesin in doses fro 200-600 pmol.

Serum gastrin and human chorionic gonadotropin in the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Prior to total gastrectomy, serum levels of gastrin and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and its alpha- and beta-subunits (alpha-HCG and beta-HCG) were determined by radioimmunoassays in 40 patients with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Basal serum gastrin levels greater than 1,500 pg/mL were found only in patients with metastases to lymph nodes or liver, while levels greater than 8,000 indicated massive liver replacement by tumor. Gastrin levels less than 1,500 pg/mL had no correlation with malignant behavior.

Ectopic production of pregnancy-specific beta 1-glycoprotein by a nontrophoblastic tumor in vitro.

To demonstrate the ectopic production of pregnancy-specific beta 1-glycoprotein (PSbetaG) by a nontrophoblastic tumor, the in vitro secretion of this glycoprotein was evaluated in an hCG-producing ovarian cystadenocarcinoma cell line maintained in long term cell culture. Parallelism was demonstrated between the immunoreactive material present in the tissue culture media and highly purified PSbetaG measured by a sensitive and specific RIA. The immunoreactive material was shown to cochromatograph with purified PSbetaG present in normal term pregnancy serum on a Sephadex G-150 column.

Widespread distribution of a chorionic gonadotropin-like substance in normal human tissues.

Recent studies have demonstrated that the normal human testes, colon, and liver contain a substance that resembles hCG. To extend these findings, we examined aqueous extracts of a variety of normal human tissues for the presence of this material. The beta-hCG RIA, rat Leydig cell radioreceptor assay, and a newly developed, highly specific hCG RIA were used to measure hCG activity in a serial dilutions of the extracts.

Serum glycoprotein hormone alpha subunit levels in patients with cancer.

The serum glycoprotein hormone alpha subunit concentration was measured in 957 nonpregnant patients with benign disorders and 683 patients with unselected malignancies. Postmenopausal women had significantly higher alpha levels than premenopausal women or men. When the patients were subdivided according to age, sex or disease sites, significant population differences were found for women less than 50 years of age and patients with cancers of presumed neural crest origin.