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THOMAS S. CROXSON, WILLIAM E. CHAPMAN, LORRAINE K. MILLER, CHARLES D. LEVIT, RUBY SENIE, BARNETT ZUMOFF, Changes in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Homosexual Men, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 68, Issue 2, 1 February 1989, Pages 317–321, https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem-68-2-317
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Abstract
Serum total testosterone, total 17β-estradiol, LH, FSH, and PRL concentrations were measured by RIA in 59 homosexual men infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (32 clinically healthy antibody-positive men (HH+), 20 men with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and 7 men with AIDS-related complex (ARC). The results were compared with those of 26 antibody-negative homosexual men (HH−) who served as controls. The mean serum total testosterone concentration was significantly lower in the men with AIDS [414 ± 230 (±sd) ng/dL (14.5 ± 8.0)] than in the HH− men [550 ± 172 ng/dL (19.0 ± 6.0 nmol/L); P < 0.05]. The mean serum LH level was significantly higher in the men with AIDS (26 ± 14 vs. 14 ± 4 IU/L in HH- men; P < 0.01) and slightly but significantly higher in the men with ARC (19 ± 8 IU/L; 0.10 < P > 0.05). Serum FSH also was significantly higher in the men with AIDS (P < 0.05). Serum PRL was significantly higher in the men with ARC (10 ± 2 μg/L; P < 0.05) and AIDS (16 ± 10 μg/L; P < 0.001) than in the HH- men (8 ± 3 μg/L). Serum sex hormone-binding globulin levels were similar in HH− men and men with AIDS as were serum T responses to hCG administration for 2 days. These results suggest that alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis indicative of primary hypogonadism accompany human immunodeficiency virus infection in homosexual men.