The reproductive endocrine system in cystic fibrosis. I. Basal gonadotropin and sex steroid levels

E. O. Reiter, R. C. Stern and A. W. Root

Serum gonadotropin and sex steroid levels were measured in 106 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), 46 males and 60 females, aged 8 to 24 years. The finding of delayed pubertal increments of serum gonadotropin and sex steroid levels in CF patients suggests late maturation of the reproductive endocrine system. Although pubertal changes in reproductive endocrine hormones in patients with CF appear to be temporally delayed, generally appropriate levels of these hormones are finally attained in most patients by the late teenage years. Delayed maturation of the reproductive endocrine system probably is secondary to hypothalamic-pituitary dysfunction, the result of chronic inanition.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Infertility in Females with Cystic Fibrosis Is Multifactorial: Evidence from Mouse Models
Hodges et al.
Endocrinology 2008;149:2790-2797.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Controlled longitudinal study of bone mass accrual in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis
Buntain et al.
Thorax 2006;61:146-154.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Calcium Kinetics Are Altered in Clinically Stable Girls with Cystic Fibrosis
Schulze et al.
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2004;89:3385-3391.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Respiratory diseases in pregnancy {bullet} 4: Women with cystic fibrosis and their potential for reproduction
Edenborough
Thorax 2001;56:649-655.
FULL TEXT  

Delayed Puberty in Girls With Cystic Fibrosis Despite Good Clinical Status
Johannesson et al.
Pediatrics 1997;99:29-34.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT