Serum levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone in patients with chronic renal disease.
Androgen metabolism has been studied in 33 patients (17 males, 16 females) with chronic renal disease not undergoing dialysis treatment. The mean value of serum testosterone was reduced in both sexes, whereas that of serum leteinizing hormone (LH) was elevated in the males. The parameters became increasingly pathological with decreasing renal function. There was no correlation between serum testosterone and serum LH, indicating an inadequate hypothalamic-pituitary response to the testicular dysfunction. The clinical significance of this relative hypoandrogenaemia is obscure. A possible relation to the anaemia and bone disease of chronic renal failure is discussed.