title: Testosterone concentrations and sirolimus in male renal transplant patients.
abstract: Sirolimus damages the testes in animals; however, human data are sparse. We conducted a case-control study to obtain further insight into this issue and compared testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and prolactin concentrations in matched renal transplant patients who did or did not receive sirolimus. We found that testosterone values were lower (11.2 +/- 6.3 nmol/L vs. 15.5 +/- 7.7 nmol/L, p < 0.05), in 28 sirolimus-treated patients, compared to 28 non-sirolimus-treated controls. Furthermore, these patients more commonly had testosterone concentrations that were below our reference value for normal men. In contrast, FSH and LH concentrations were higher while prolactin levels were not different. These data are consistent with sirolimus-related testosterone suppression and suggest a need for further studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany. Lutz.Fritsche@charite.de
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fritsche
authors.forename: Klemens
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Budde
authors.forename: Duska
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dragun
authors.forename: Gunilla
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Einecke
authors.forename: Fritz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Diekmann
authors.forename: Hans-Hellmut
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Neumayer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011388:Prolactin / Q000097:blood; D020123:Sirolimus / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D013739:Testosterone; D011388:Prolactin; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone; D020123:Sirolimus