Andrology: Effect of growth hormone administration on circulating levels of luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone and testosterone in normal healthy men

A new area of growth hormone (GH) therapy in adults is the treatmentof infertility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectsof pharmacological GH administration on the secretion of pituitaryand gonadal hormones in normal men. Eight healthy men, 23–32years of age (mean 28.1 years), with a normal body mass indexwere studied in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossoverdesign. All participants had a normal semen analysis beforeentering the study. Each participant was treated with placeboand GH (12/IU/day, Norditropin; Novo Nordisk, Denmark) duringtwo different 14-day periods, separated by a 6 week washoutperiod. Administration of GH for 14 days resulted in a significantincrease in serum insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I; P <0.01) but no changes occurred in IGF-I values during placebotreatment. The concentrations of follicle stimulating hormoneand luteinizing hormone displayed no change during the two periodsand did not differ between the GH treatment period and the placeboperiod. The concentration of testosterone was unchanged duringthe placebo/GH periods and there was no difference between theGH treatment period and the placebo period. We conclude thatGH treatment for 14 days in normal healthy men does not affectgonadotrophin or testosterone patterns.