Serum and urinary levels of pituitary--gonadal hormones in insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent diabetic males with and without neuropathy.

ABSTRACT

Diabetic neuropathies were studied in 100 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients, 314 non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients with and without an objective evidence of neuropathy (age span, 15-80 years; duration of diabetes distributed over 1-33 years), and their age-matched nondiabetic controls. Serum and urinary levels of pituitary-gonadal hormones were evaluated in the diabetic subjects. There were striking results, i.e., a significantly low serum total and serum free (urinary) testosterone level (p < .0005) and a significantly high serum and urinary FSH and LH and serum prolactin level (p < .0005), specifically in the neuropathic diabetic patients, suggesting a series of pathological reactions in the smooth musculature of genital organs characterized by an increase in the interstitial thickness of seminiferous tubules, peritubular and intertubular fibrosis, and tubular sclerosis. Testicular necrosis, probably due to neuropathy, provided an additional aid to confirm these findings. A decrease in semen volume and sperm motility in the diabetic neuropathic patients further suggested the involvement of the entire smooth musculature of the reproductive tract, leading to atonia of the bladder and urethra. Such complications are purely neurogenic. The low serum and urinary testosterone levels and increased serum and urinary FSH and LH and serum prolactin levels in the diabetic men with neuropathy suggest gonadal disorder (hypogonadotropic hypogonadism), which may be due to testicular necrosis and thickening of seminiferous tubules, causing autonomic lesion.