Effect of Long-Term Testosterone Oenanthate Administration on Male Reproductive Function: Clinical Evaluation, Serum Fsh, Lh, Testosterone, and Seminal Fluid Analyses in Normal Men

Abstract

The effect of long-term testosterone administration on male reproductive function has been investigated in seven healthy young men age 20 to 27 years. Testosterone oenanthate (TOe) was administered in doses of 250 mg per week for 21 weeks. No toxic side-effects were observed. Libido, sexual potency, frequency of sexual intercourse and body hair development generally remained unaffected, but there was a reversible mean weight gain of 3.6 kg during TOe administration. Seminal fluid parameters and radioimmunoassayable serum FSH, LH, testosterone, and androstenedione levels were monitored before, during, and after TOe administration. The serum testosterone rose approximately by a factor of two, while the serum FSH and LH were rapidly suppressed after the initiation of the TOe therapy.The mean sperm concentration fell to values below three million spermatozoa per ml, and changes in sperm motility, the percentage of normal sperm morphology, and seminal fructose concentrations generally paralleled those of the mean sperm concentrations. In contrast, the mean seminal fluid volume and serum androstenedione levels did not change significantly durPresent address:

Effect of long-term testosterone propionate or human chorionic gonadotrophin administration on reproductive glands in adult male rabbits

“…These findings are in agreement with those reported in rabbits (Desjardins et al, 1975), rats (Albert, 1961;Mann, 1964) and humans (Mauss et al, 1975). On the other hand, hCG in the applied doses and periods had not resulted in any changes in testicular weight at the experiment end.…”

“…The high serum T level following TP in rabbits in this study agrees with previous published data in rats (AbdelRaouf & Paulsen, 1987), dogs (Kawakami et al, 2000(Kawakami et al, , 2005, monkeys (Weinbauer et al, 2001) and men (Lee et al, 1972;Morse et al, 1973;Zhengwei et al, 1998). The rise in serum androgen level is expected as TP or other T esters have no stimulatory effect on androgen production by the testes and the hormone measured in the serum is the sum of that exogenously administrated and as a sequence of the negative feedback and endogenously reduced, a fact which has been stated before (Mauss et al, 1975).…”

The Effect of Short-Term Testosterone Treatment in Boys With Delayed Puberty

“…Following administration of testosterone in high doses for 1 year to boys with excessive height, spermatogenesis recovered after some time though this lasted 2 years in some cases (Zachmann et al 1976). Similar data have been obtained in normal men (Mauss et al 1975).…”

Effect of Experimentally Induced Renal Failure on Testicular Testosterone Synthesis in Rats

“…In addition, testosterone supplementation or conversion of testosterone to an active metabolite, such as dihydroxytestosterone, might be helpful in such patients [12,14,20] although testosterone exerts its effect only in the presence of a balanced hormonal environment and particularly in the presence of adequate level of growth hormones [8].…”