Adrenal and testicular function in boys affected by thalassemia.

The adrenal androgen secretion and testicular function were studied in 6 thalassemic boys aged between 16 and 20 years. Six normal boys of the same age and 6 at the same pubertal stage (P1 according to Tanner) were also studied as controls. Plasma testosterone levels were found significantly lower (p less than 0.001) in the thalassemic boys (0.8 +/- 0.1 ng/ml) than in healthy boys of the same age (3.4 +/- 1.01 ng/ml), but within the range of the healthy boys at the same pubertal stage (0.69 +/- 0.1 ng/ml). DHA-S, a marker of adrenal maturation, showed a similar pattern. The hCG test showed a significant (p less than 0.001) testosterone response in all 3 groups. The response of thalassemic boys (1.5 +/- 0.18 ng/ml) was similar to that of normal boys at stage P1 (1.8 +/- 0.31 ng/ml), but significantly lower (p less than 0.001) than the group of normal boys of the same age (12.5 +/- 3.2 ng/ml). The impaired adrenal and testicular activity is probably due to iron deposits in the endocrine glands.