Harman S M, Tsitouras P D
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1980 Jul;51(1):35-40. doi: 10.1210/jcem-51-1-35.
Although alterations of circulating sex steroids have been reported in aging men, it is not known to what extent reported changes may represent effects of variables other than aging. We have measured sex hormone levels, serum binding, the testosterone (T) response to hCG, and basal LH levels in 69 male volunteers, aged 25-89 yr, without alcoholism, obesity, chronic illness, or severe prostatic disease, and not using potentially interfering medications. In our study there was no effect of age on serum T, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone, estrone, or estradiol. Binding of T to T-binding globulin increased slightly with age, but not enough to decrease the free T index (fraction free X T concentration). Basal serum LH rose significantly. The T response to hCG suggested a somewhat diminished Leydig cell reserve with age, a conclusion consistent with the LH elevation. Our failure to detect the decreased T and free T index or increased estrogens reported by others could reflect afternoon rather than morning sampling, but is more likely to be due to our use of exceptionally healthy volunteers. We suggest that factors other than aging might have influenceed the data previously reported, and that aging per se need not be associated with altered sex steroid levels in the human male.
尽管已有报道称老年男性体内循环性类固醇会发生改变，但尚不清楚所报道的变化在多大程度上可能代表衰老以外的其他变量的影响。我们测量了69名年龄在25至89岁之间、无酗酒、肥胖、慢性病或严重前列腺疾病且未使用可能产生干扰药物的男性志愿者的性激素水平、血清结合力、睾酮（T）对人绒毛膜促性腺激素（hCG）的反应以及基础促黄体生成素（LH）水平。在我们的研究中，年龄对血清T、5α-二氢睾酮、雌酮或雌二醇没有影响。T与睾酮结合球蛋白的结合力随年龄略有增加，但不足以降低游离T指数（游离分数×T浓度）。基础血清LH显著升高。T对hCG的反应表明，随着年龄增长，睾丸间质细胞储备有所减少，这一结论与LH升高一致。我们未能检测到其他人所报道的T和游离T指数降低或雌激素增加的情况，这可能反映了样本采集时间为下午而非上午，但更有可能是由于我们使用了健康状况极佳的志愿者。我们认为，衰老以外的因素可能影响了先前报道的数据，而且衰老本身未必与男性体内性类固醇水平的改变有关。
