Gonadal function in boys with steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome treated with cyclophosphamide for short periods

Semen analysis was undertaken in 19 men over the age of 18 years who had been treated during childhood for steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome with a single course of cyclophosphamide 3 mg/kg bodyweight for 8 weeks. A further 4 men who received two such courses of treatment were also studied. Plasma total androgens and gonadotropins were also determined. A comparison group consisted of medical students investigated as potential donors for artificial insemination. Lower ejaculate volumes and sperm densities with a higher percentage of immotile and abnormal forms were detected in patients who had received cyclophosphamide. However, the abnormalities were not severe enough to suggest infertility. Plasma total androgens were lower in the patients, but there were no differences in gonadotropic hormones. The data suggest that a course of treatment with cyclophosphamide known to influence the natural history of the nephrotic syndrome is not necessarily followed by a severe abnormality of sperm production; nevertheless, great caution is still required in the use of the drug.