Endocrine Abstracts

Puberty is a process in humans that leads to the development of secondary sexual characteristics and reproductive capabilities. The physical changes of puberty result from two separate and independent but overlapping processes: gonadarche and adrenarche. The activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis plays a key role in gonadarche whereas body weight and body mass index are postulated as triggering the adrenarche. The impairment of this cascade will result in temp...

Nitric oxide (NO) is the main final effector for penile erection achievement and maintenance in men and it constitutes a crucial target for therapeutical strategies addressed to the treatment of erectile dysfunction. The role of sex steroids penile NO pathway is still unclear, but some data suggest a positive role of androgens. In order to study the effects of sildenafil on human sleep-related erections according to the state of androgenization, we recently evaluated the effec...

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Involutional changes of gonadal function in healthy ageing men are progressive and mostly of modest amplitude with considerable between- subject variability. Albeit some men may remain relatively spared, the occurrence of age-related changes are nevertheless well documented at the population level in both cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies. These changes affect Sertoli cell function and spermatogenesis as well as Leydig cell function and testosterone (T) pr...