Treatment with human chorionic gonadotropin induces left ventricular mass in cryptorchid boys.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the effects of human chorionic gonadotropin therapy on left ventricular mass index in boys with cryptorchidism. Cryptorchidism is the most frequent anomaly of male genitalia.


METHODS
Thirty consecutive cryptorchid boys (mean age 4.8 +/- 3.2 years, range 1-8 years) undergoing human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) therapy and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The patient group received hCG by intramuscular injection twice weekly for 5 weeks. At the end of the therapy, echocardiographic measures were reevaluated. The results of left ventricular mass were indexed to body surface area before and after therapy.


RESULTS
Our results showed that cryptorchid boys undergoing hCG therapy had significantly higher left ventricular mass index than healthy controls at the end of therapy (p < 0.001). Serum total testosterone levels significantly increased in the patient group and positively correlated with left ventricular mass index (r = 0.48, p = 0.021).


CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrated that hCG treatment for cryptorchidism caused a significant increase in left ventricular mass due to high testosterone levels. We conclude that hCG therapy may not be safe for the cardiovascular system in boys with cryptorchidism.
Pirgon
Ozgur
O
Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Konya Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey. ozpirgon@hotmail.com
Atabek
Mehmet Emre
ME
Oran
Bulent
B
Suleymanoglu
Selami
S
Meral
Cihan
C
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003456:Cryptorchidism / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004452:Echocardiography; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D006728:Hormones / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D012016:Reference Values; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood
D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D006728:Hormones; D013739:Testosterone