scholarly journals Hormonal response after masturbation in young healthy men – a randomized controlled cross-over pilot study

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Isenmann ◽  
Moritz Schumann ◽  
Hannah L. Notbohm ◽  
Ulrich Flenker ◽  
Philipp Zimmer

Abstract Background Hormones like testosterone play a crucial role in performance enhancement and muscle growth. Therefore, various attempts to increase testosterone release and testosterone concentration have been made, especially in the context of resistance training. Among practitioners, sexual activity (coitus and masturbation) a few hours before training is often discussed to result in increases of testosterone concentration and thus promote muscle growth. However, there is no evidence to support this assumption and the kinetics of the testosterone and cortisol response after sexual activity have not been adequately investigated. Therefore, the aim of this pilot-study was to examine the kinetics of hormone concentrations of total testosterone, free testosterone and cortisol and their ratios after masturbation. In a three-arm single blinded cross-over study, the effects of masturbation with visual stimulus were compared to a visual stimulus without masturbation and the natural kinetics in healthy young men. Results The results showed a significant between-condition difference in free testosterone concentrations. Masturbation (p < 0.01) and a visual stimulus (p < 0.05) may seem to counteract the circadian drop of free testosterone concentrations over the day. However, no statistical change was observed in the ratios between total testosterone, free testosterone and cortisol. Conclusions It can be assumed that masturbation may have a potential effect on free testosterone concentrations but not on hormonal ratios. However, additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate these findings.

2007 ◽  
Vol 156 (5) ◽  
pp. 585-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bu B Yeap ◽  
Osvaldo P Almeida ◽  
Zoë Hyde ◽  
Paul E Norman ◽  
S A Paul Chubb ◽  
...  

Objective: An age-related decline in serum total and free testosterone concentration may contribute to ill health in men, but limited data are available for men > 70 years of age. We sought to determine the distribution and associations of reduced testosterone concentrations in older men. Design: The Health in Men Study is a community-representative prospective cohort investigation of 4263 men aged ≥ 70 years. Cross-sectional hormone data from 3645 men were analysed. Methods: Early morning sera were assayed for total testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and LH. Free testosterone was calculated using the Vermeulen method. Results: Mean (± s.d.) serum total testosterone was 15.4 ± 5.6 nmol/l (444 ± 162 ng/dl), SHBG 42.4 ± 16.7 nmol/l and free testosterone 278 ± 96 pmol/l (8.01 ± 2.78 ng/dl). Total testosterone correlated with SHBG (Spearman’s r = 0.6, P < 0.0001). LH and SHBG increased with age (r = 0.2, P < 0.0001 for both). Instead of declining, total testosterone increased marginally (r = 0.04, P = 0.007) whilst free testosterone declined with age (r = −0.1, P < 0.0001). Free testosterone was inversely correlated with LH (r = −0.1, P < 0.0001). In multivariate analyses, increasing age, body mass index (BMI) and LH were associated with lower free testosterone. Conclusions: In men aged 70–89 years, modulation of androgen action may occur via an age-related increase in SHBG and reduction in free testosterone without a decline in total testosterone concentration. Increasing age, BMI and LH are independently associated with lower free testosterone. Further investigation would be required to assess the clinical consequences of low serum free testosterone, particularly in older men in whom total testosterone may be preserved.


1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. 2178-2182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J Winters ◽  
David E Kelley ◽  
Bret Goodpaster

Abstract Men with low testosterone concentrations are usually hypogonadal. However, because variations in the testosterone transport protein, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), directly influence the total testosterone concentration, confirmation of a low testosterone with a measurement of free testosterone or “bioavailable” testosterone (BAT) is recommended. In the present study, we examined the relationship of SHBG with free testosterone (Coat-A-Count assay, Diagnostic Products) and with BAT in men (n = 29) and women (n = 28) who participated in a study of the metabolic determinants of body composition. As expected, total testosterone was strongly positively correlated with SHBG among men (r = 0.68; P &lt;0.01). Although the BAT was independent of SHBG in men (r = 0.02), SHBG was an important predictor of free testosterone (r = 0. 62; P &lt;0.01). In contrast, in women serum concentrations of total testosterone (r = −0.26; P = 0.17), free testosterone (r = −0.30; P = 0.17), and BAT (r = −0.46; P = 0.013) all tended to be lower with increasing SHBG. Free testosterone was nearly perfectly positively correlated with total testosterone (r = 0.97) in men, among whom free testosterone represented a relatively constant percentage of the total testosterone (0.5–0.65%), and the percentage of free testosterone was unrelated to SHBG. Thus the Coat-A-Count free testosterone concentration in men, like the total testosterone concentration, is determined in part by plasma SHBG. Accordingly, androgen deficiency may be misclassified with this assay in men with low SHBG. Moreover, the previous findings of reduced free testosterone concentrations with hypertension or hyperinsulinemia or as a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, conditions in which SHBG is reduced, may have been methodology-related.


1991 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Wheeler ◽  
B. K. Toone ◽  
A. Dannatt ◽  
P. B. C. Fenwick ◽  
S. Brown

ABSTRACT There are several reports which state that male epileptics on anti-convulsant therapy have reduced sexual activity. We and others have shown that, although total testosterone is raised, the free testosterone concentration is reduced in this patient population. This could be a result of an increased metabolic clearance rate (MCR) of testosterone, inadequate secretion of LH to stimulate testosterone synthesis or inappropriately low testosterone production by the Leydig cells. We have examined these possibilities by measuring the MCR of testosterone in 15 male epileptics on anti-convulsant therapy. In this group of patients, the mean LH (9·3±5·9 IU/l) and sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) (54·5±22·9 nmol/l) concentrations were significantly greater than those of five normal control subjects (4·7±1·11 IU/l and 26·0 ±7·0 nmol/l respectively). Mean total testosterone concentrations of the two groups were not significantly different but the mean percentage of free testosterone and free testosterone concentration were significantly lower in the patient population (2·06±0·43 vs 2·98±0·27 and 0·56±1·1 vs 0·79±0·7 pmol/l). The MCR of testosterone was significantly lower in the patients (773±322 vs 1354±443 1/day) and showed a positive correlation with the percentage of free testosterone. Therefore, our results suggest that the lowered free testosterone in male epileptics on anti-convulsant therapy is not due to an increased MCR of testosterone. The increased LH concentration suggests primary hypogonadism. This, in turn, could be responsible for low free testosterone levels in the presence of normal testosterone. Journal of Endocrinology (1991) 129, 465–468


2009 ◽  
Vol 161 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desiree Kronawitter ◽  
Louis J Gooren ◽  
Hendryk Zollver ◽  
Patricia G Oppelt ◽  
Matthias W Beckmann ◽  
...  

ObjectiveIt has been reported that hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) affects one-third of transsexual women (defined as postoperative male-to-female transsexuals) receiving estrogen replacement whose bioavailable androgen levels are lower than in ovulating women and comparable with those in surgically postmenopausal women. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of transdermal testosterone treatment and of oral dydrogesterone in transsexual women with HSDD receiving estrogens.MethodsSeven transsexual women with HSDD were treated with a testosterone patch and nine transsexual women with HSDD were treated with oral dydrogesterone over 24 weeks. The primary end point was the change in the brief profile of female sexual function (B-PFSF) score. Secondary end points were changes in hormonal parameters and side effect assessments.ResultsA significant increase in total testosterone and free testosterone levels was observed in the group receiving transdermal testosterone. At 24 weeks, there was a significant improvement in the B-PFSF score showing an improvement in sexual desire among transsexual women treated with the testosterone patch, whereas no change in the B-PFSF score was observed in transsexual women treated with oral dydrogesterone. No side effects were reported.ConclusionsIn this pilot study, sexual desire in transsexual women improved significantly after treatment with the testosterone patch, without noticeable side effects.


1983 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. O. Pulkkinen ◽  
J. Mäenpää

Abstract. Serum concentrations of testosterone and the binding capacity of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were measured on 2 days immediately preceding tetracycline treatment, on 3 days of treatment and on 2 days immediately after cessation of treatment. On the treatment days serum mean testosterone concentrations were significantly lower than on the control days (17 ± 0.9 vs 21 ± 0.8 nmol/l, P < 0.01). There were no differences in the SHBG. The 'free testosterone index' behaved like the total testosterone.


2010 ◽  
Vol 162 (4) ◽  
pp. 787-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes D Veldhuis ◽  
Daniel M Keenan ◽  
Peter Y Liu ◽  
Paul Y Takahashi

BackgroundTestosterone is secreted into the bloodstream episodically, putatively distributing into total, bioavailable (bio) nonsex hormone-binding globulin (nonSHBG-bound), and free testosterone moieties. The kinetics of total, bio, and free testosterone pulses are unknown.DesignAdrenal and gonadal steroidogenesis was blocked pharmacologically, glucocorticoid was replaced, and testosterone was infused in pulses in four distinct doses in 14 healthy men under two different paradigms (a total of 220 testosterone pulses).MethodsTestosterone kinetics were assessed by deconvolution analysis of total, free, bioavailable, SHBG-bound, and albumin-bound testosterone concentration–time profiles.ResultsIndependently of testosterone dose or paradigm, rapid-phase half-lives (min) of total, free, bioavailable, SHBG-bound, and albumin-bound testosterone were comparable at 1.4±0.22 min (grand mean±s.e.m. of geometric means). Slow-phase testosterone half-lives were highest for SHBG-bound testosterone (32 min) and total testosterone (27 min) with the former exceeding that of free testosterone (18 min), bioavailable testosterone (14 min), and albumin-bound testosterone (18 min; P<0.001). Collective outcomes indicate that i) the rapid phase of testosterone disappearance from point sampling in the circulation is not explained by testosterone dose; ii) SHBG-bound testosterone and total testosterone kinetics are prolonged; and iii) the half-lives of bioavailable, albumin-bound, and free testosterone are short.ConclusionA frequent-sampling strategy comprising an experimental hormone clamp, estimation of hormone concentrations as bound and free moieties, mimicry of physiological pulses, and deconvolution analysis may have utility in estimating the in vivo kinetics of other hormones, substrates, and metabolites.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 1759-1770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A Platz ◽  
John R Barber ◽  
Susan Chadid ◽  
Jiayun Lu ◽  
Adrian S Dobs ◽  
...  

Abstract Context Testosterone deficiency prevalence increases with age, comorbidities, and obesity. Objective To inform clinical guidelines for testosterone deficiency management and development of targets for nonpharmacologic intervention trials for these men, we determined serum testosterone in never-smoking, lean men without select comorbidities in nationally representative surveys. Design, Setting, Participants We used cross-sectional data for never-smoking, lean men ≥20 years without diabetes, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, stroke, or cancer, without use of hormone-influencing medications, and participated in morning sessions of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (phase I 1988–1991) or continuous NHANES (1999–2004). By age, we determined median total testosterone (ng/mL) measured previously by a Food and Drug Administration-approved immunoassay and median estimated free testosterone concentration. Results In NHANES III, in never-smoking, lean men without comorbidities, median (25th, 75th percentile) testosterone was 4% to 9% higher than all men—20 to 39 years: 6.24 (5.16, 7.51), 40 to 59: 5.37 (3.83, 6.49), and ≥60: 4.61 (4.01, 5.18). In continuous NHANES, in never-smoking, lean men without comorbidities, levels were 13% to 24% higher than all men—20 to 39 years: 6.26 (5.32, 7.27), 40 to 59: 5.86 (4.91, 6.55), and ≥60: 4.22 (3.74, 5.73). In never-smoking, lean men without comorbidities, median estimated free testosterone was similar to (NHANES III) or slightly higher than (continuous NHANES) in all men. Conclusions These nationally representative data document testosterone levels (immunoassay) in never-smoking, lean men without select comorbidities 30 and 15 to 20 years ago. This information can be incorporated into guidelines for testosterone deficiency management and used to develop targets for nonpharmacologic intervention trials for testosterone deficiency.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 672-679
Author(s):  
M P Schuijt ◽  
C G J Sweep ◽  
R van der Steen ◽  
A J Olthaar ◽  
N M M L Stikkelbroeck ◽  
...  

Objective Increased maternal testosterone concentration during pregnancy may affect the fetus. Therefore it is clinically relevant to have a quick and reliable method to determine free testosterone levels. Current calculators for free testosterone are suspected to perform poorly during pregnancy due to suggested competition between high levels of estradiol and free (bio-active) testosterone for sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) binding. Therefore, it is claimed that reliable calculation of free testosterone concentration is not possible. However, recent evidence on SHBG-binding sites questions the estradiol effect on the testosterone-SHBG binding during pregnancy. In this study, we investigated whether the free testosterone concentration can be calculated in pregnant women. Design and methods Free testosterone was measured with a specially developed equilibrium dialysis method combined with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Free testosterone was also calculated with the formulas of Vermeulen et al. and Ross et al. Results Total and free testosterone measured in healthy men and women were in good agreement with earlier reports. In pregnant women, total testosterone values were higher than in non-pregnant women, whereas free testosterone values were comparable. Calculated free testosterone levels in pregnant women were highly correlated, but marginally higher, compared to measured free testosterone levels. Conclusions We developed an equilibrium dialysis–LC-MS/MS method for the measurement of free testosterone in the low range of pregnant and non-pregnant women. Although during pregnancy total testosterone is increased, this is not the case for free testosterone. The free testosterone formulas perform well in pregnant women.


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