Pituitary and testicular function in adolescents with varicocele

The LH and FSH responses post GnRH, and the sex steroid hormone responses post hCG stimulation were evaluated in a group of 41 adolescents (mean age 15.09 +/- 2.27) with unilateral varicocele to study the relation between the pituitary gonadotropin and sex steroid hormone responses to the patients' age and pubertal stages. Twenty-two normal boys (mean age 14.90 +/- 1.97) also were studied. In both groups a GnRH stimulation test was performed. Besides this, an hCG test was performed in 7 patients and 7 controls. No significative differences in the LH and FSH responses to the GnRH stimulus were observed in 14 patients at Tanners' pubertal stages 3 to 4 compared to the controls. Twelve (44.44%) patients at Tanners' pubertal stage 5 presented an excessive LH response at 30 and 60 min after GnRH stimulation compared to 12 age- and pubertal stage-matched controls (p < .001 and p < .05, respectively). They also presented an excessive FSH response at 30 min (p < .05) post-GnRH stimulation. Correlation analysis in these 12 patients revealed a tendency toward a positive association between the patients' age and the LH response post-GnRH stimulation. In this group of adolescents with varicocele the gonadotropin response to the GnRH stimulus was influenced by the patients' age and by their pubertal stage of development independently of the venous dilatation.