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Basal Heat Production in Hypogonadism in Men and Its Increase by Protracted Treatment with Testosterone Propionate

1941; Oxford University Press; Volume: 1; Issue: 12 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1210/jcem-1-12-931

1945-7197

Irene Sandiford, Kathryn Knowlton, ALXAN T. KENYON,

Insect and Pesticide Research

IN SEVERAL STUDIES during the past two years we have recorded slight but consistent increases in the basal metabolic rates of eunuchoids treated with testosterone propionate (1, 2, 3). This effect has paralleled other and often more striking metabolic events such as gain in weight, reduction in urinary excretion of sodium, chloride, potassium, inorganic phosphorus, water, total nitrogen and creatine (2, 3) and increased urinary excretion of androgens and estrogens (4). In 5 brief experiments on 4 hospitalised patients, with treatment lasting from 9 to 14 days, heat production, expressed in total Calories per hour exceeded base line levels by 8 to 9% in all instances save one in which the excess was 14% (2, 3). A 5th patient (H.S.) who differed from the others in having a gross demonstrable pituitary lesion showed no such response to the androgen (2). The heat production of one eunuchoid (N.T.) treated in the outpatient department showed no change during the first 10 days of treatment but increased 19% by the 40th day (1), thus suggesting that more decisive data could be secured by protracted experiments. Thompson and Heckel’s experience is in agreement with this as they chart a rise in basal metabolic rate of about 20 points occurring a little short of 2 months after starting treatment of an 18’yearold eunuchoid with 25 mg. of testosterone propionate daily. They also speak of increases up to 30 points with heavier doses but have recorded no details as yet (5). Recently McCullagh and Rossmiller (6) have observed striking increases of the basal metabolic rate of eunuchoids receiving up to 300 mg.