Sex Hormone Profile in Pubertal Boys With Gynecomastia and Pseudogynecomastia

New liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry reference data for estradiol show mini-puberty in both sexes and typical pre-pubertal and pubertal patterns

CONTEXT

Reliable estradiol (E2) reference intervals (RIs) are crucial in pediatric endocrinology.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to develop a sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for E2 in serum, to establish graphically represented RI percentiles and annual RIs for both sexes, and to perform a systematic literature comparison.

METHODS

First, a UPLC-MS/MS method for E2 was developed. Second, graphically represented RI percentiles and annual RIs covering 0-18 years were computed (cohort of healthy children [1181 girls and 543 boys]). Subsequently, RIs were compared with published data by systematic searches.

RESULTS

Lower limit of quantification was 11 pmol/L, indicating high sensitivity. Estradiol first peaked during mini-puberty in both sexes (girls up to 192 pmol/L; boys up to 225 pmol/L). As could be expected, girls showed higher pubertal E2 (up to 638 pmol/L). However, boys' RIs (up to 259 pmol/L) overlapped considerably. We found 4 studies in the literature that also used LC-MS/MS to determine E2 and published RIs for the complete pediatric age range. Reference intervals varied considerably. Pre-pubertal and pubertal phases were present in all studies. Higher E2 during the time of mini-puberty in both sexes was documented in 3 studies including ours.

CONCLUSIONS

Variability of RIs for E2 between studies illustrates the importance of laboratory-specific RIs despite using a LC-MS/MS reference method. In boys, the striking E2 peak during mini-puberty as well as high pubertal E2 without phenotypic estrogenization in regular male puberty indicates that the role of E2 in children and, especially in boys, requires better functional understanding.

Beyond the Metabolic Syndrome: Non-Obvious Complications of Obesity in Children

Obesity is currently one of the most significant public health challenges worldwide due to the continuous increase in obesity rates among children, especially younger children. Complications related to obesity, including serious ones, are increasingly being diagnosed in younger children. A search was performed from January 2023 to September 2023 using the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, MEDLINE, and EBSCO databases. The focus was on English-language meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized clinical trials, and observational studies worldwide. Four main topics were defined as follows: disorders of glucose metabolism; liver disease associated with childhood obesity; the relationship between respiratory disorders and obesity in children; and the effects of obesity on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and puberty. Understanding potential complications and their underlying mechanisms can expedite the diagnostic process and enhance the effectiveness of treatment. We aspire that this study will bring insight into the often-overlooked complications associated with obesity.

Gynecomastia

Enlargement of breasts among boys is termed gynecomastia. This could be due to an alteration in the androgen-estrogen ratio along with the effects of other hormones including growth hormone, insulin like growth factor 1, prolactin, and other factors affecting aromatase enzyme. The common causes of gynecomastia are pubertal gynecomastia, obesity, drugs and hypogonadism. Several other diseases including liver or renal failure, thyrotoxicosis, Klinefelter syndrome, tumors and environmental pollutants can cause gynecomastia. History and clinical examination will help formulate targeted investigations and management. The factors to be evaluated in these include examination of breasts and testes, in addition to other parts of systemic examination. Treatment of underlying disorders can improve gynecomastia, such as use of testosterone in hypogonadism. Some boys may not need any intervention as gynecomastia may resolve on its own. Medical management is useful in simple gynecomastia. Tamoxifen has been tried successfully in adolescents with gynecomastia. Other drugs including clomiphene, danazol, letrozole and anastrozole have not been consistently useful in this age group. In severe chronic gynecomastia, surgery is the treatment of choice.

Tamoxifen Treatment for Pubertal Gynecomastia: When to Start and How Long to Continue

Introduction

Pubertal gynecomastia is a common clinical condition among male adolescents, and in most cases, it regresses spontaneously. However, tamoxifen treatment is recommended in selected cases. We aimed to evaluate the indications, safety, and efficacy of tamoxifen treatment in adolescents with pubertal gynecomastia.

Methods

The data of 83 adolescents with pubertal gynecomastia who were treated with tamoxifen between 2006 and 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. The clinical and laboratory data, initial complaint, tamoxifen treatment indication, duration, and dose were recorded along with the treatment outcome.

Results

The gynecomastia disc diameter's monthly reduction rate was significantly higher in adolescents with an initial disc diameter ≥3 cm. The significant reduction of the disc started after the fourth month of tamoxifen treatment and continued to significantly reduce, extending to the sixth month.

Conclusion

Tamoxifen treatment in pubertal gynecomastia was found to be effective and safe. One of the current indications for tamoxifen treatment is having a disc size ≥4 cm, and the recommended treatment duration is 4-6 months. However, this study suggests that treatment should be continued for at least 6 months to achieve the optimal effect. In addition, we recommend that the disc diameter threshold for starting tamoxifen needs to be ≥3 cm.

Metabolic effects of estradiol versus testosterone in complete androgen insensitivity syndrome

PURPOSE

To study differences in metabolic outcomes between testosterone and estradiol replacement in probands with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS).

METHODS

In this multicentre, double-blind, randomized crossover trial, 26 women with CAIS were included of whom 17 completed the study. After a two-months run in phase with estradiol, probands either received transdermal estradiol followed by crossover to transdermal testosterone or vice versa. After six months, differences in lipids, fasting glucose, insulin, hematocrit, liver parameters and blood pressure between the treatment phases were investigated.

RESULTS

Linear mixed models adjusted for period and sequence did not reveal major group differences according to treatment for the investigated outcomes. In each treatment group, there were however significant uniform changes in BMI and cholesterol. BMI increased significantly, following six months of estradiol ( + 2.7%; p = 0.036) as well as testosterone treatment ( + 2.8%; p = 0.036). There was also a significant increase in total ( + 10.4%; p = 0.001) and LDL-cholesterol ( + 29.2%; p = 0.049) and a decrease in HDL-cholesterol (-15.8%; p < 0.001) following six months of estradiol as well as six months of testosterone treatment (total cholesterol: + 14.6%; p = 0.008; LDL-cholesterol: + 39.1%; p = 0.005, HDL-cholesterol: -15.8%; p = 0.004). Other parameters remained unchanged.

CONCLUSION

Transdermal estradiol as well as testosterone treatment in women with CAIS results in worsening in lipid profiles. Given the relatively small sample size, subtle group differences in other metabolic parameters may have remained undetected.

The role of steroid receptors, peptides and growth factors in the aetiopathogenesis of idiopathic gynecomastia

Idiopathic gynecomastia is a diagnosis of exclusion. We aimed to evaluate the role of steroids, peptides and growth factors in these patients. Those with bilateral idiopathic gynecomastia (n = 29) (Simon's grade IIb or III) who underwent gland excision were evaluated by immunohistochemical techniques using semi-quantitative grading for oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), aromatase, androgen receptor (AR), peptides (IGF-1, IGF-2, HER-2, parathyroid-hormone related peptide [PTHrP]) and growth factors (EGFR, TGFβ). The cohort comprised 29 patients, with a mean age of 25.3 ± 5.1 years and a mean body mass index of 27.2 ± 2.3 kg/m² . Grade IIb gynecomastia was present in 79.1% and moderate-to-severe insulin resistance (HOMA-IR >3) in 53.7% of patients. ER expression was positive in 100% samples, followed by AR (96.5%), aromatase (96.5%) and PR (93.1%). IGF-1 was expressed in 86.2% of the cohort, IGF2 in 27.5% and HER-2 in only two samples, with both showing weak immunoexpression. None of the patients had positive expression of EGFR, TGF-β or PTHrP. There was no association between immunoexpression and gynecomastia grade. This study demonstrates the predominant role of oestrogen, aromatase and insulin resistance in the aetiopathogenesis of idiopathic gynecomastia and implicates the paracrine hyperestrogenic milieu in its causation as circulating hormones were normal.

Incidence of gynaecomastia in Klinefelter syndrome adolescents and outcome of testosterone treatment

The aim was to define the true incidence of gynaecomastia in adolescent boys with Klinefelter syndrome (KS) and to observe testosterone treatment effects on its duration by examination of the prospectively collected data from a specialist referral clinic for boys with KS, with comparison being made with KS boys identified by a historical newborn chromosome screening programme, together with chromosomally normal controls. Fifty-nine boys over age 13 years were referred to a specialist KS clinic; 21 developed gynaecomastia. The comparator was 14 KS boys identified at birth and 94 chromosomally normal control boys. Testosterone was routinely started at the onset of puberty if gynaecomastia, a manifestation of clinical hypogonadism, was present. Oral or transdermal testosterone was administered in the morning, in a reverse physiological rhythm, and doses were increased according to standard pubertal regimens. The incidence of gynaecomastia was not increased in both the KS cohorts compared with controls. The incidence and age of onset of gynaecomastia was 35.6%, at 12.3 (1.8) years in the KS clinic group; 36.0%, at 13.7 (0.6) years in the newborn survey group; and 34.0%, at 13.6 (0.8) years in the controls. Full resolution of the gynaecomastia occurred in the 12/14 KS clinic boys on testosterone treatment who had completed puberty and as long as adherence was maintained.Conclusion: The incidence of gynaecomastia in KS boys (overall 35.6%) is not increased over typically developing boys. Commencing testosterone when gynaecomastia develops with physiological dose escalation and full adherence can result in the resolution of the gynaecomastia. What is Known: • Gynaecomastia is a common feature in Klinefelter syndrome men. • Hypogonadism occurs from mid-puberty onwards with the absence of the usual rise in testosterone levels. What is New: • The incidence of pubertal gynaecomastia in Klinefelter syndrome is not different from typically developing boys. • Early and prompt starting of testosterone gel treatment and increasing the dose physiologically may help to resolve the gynaecomastia without the need for surgery.

The Action of Reproductive Fluids and Contained Steroids, Prostaglandins, and Zn2+ on CatSper Ca2+ Channels in Human Sperm

The sperm-specific Ca²⁺ channel CatSper registers chemical cues that assist human sperm to fertilize the egg. Prime examples are progesterone and prostaglandin E₁ that activate CatSper without involving classical nuclear and G protein-coupled receptors, respectively. Here, we study the action of seminal and follicular fluid as well of the contained individual prostaglandins and steroids on the intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration of sperm from donors and CATSPER2-deficient patients that lack functional CatSper channels. We show that any of the reproductive steroids and prostaglandins evokes a rapid Ca²⁺ increase that invariably rests on Ca²⁺ influx via CatSper. The hormones compete for the same steroid- and prostaglandin-binding site to activate the channel, respectively. Analysis of the hormones’ structure–activity relationship highlights their unique pharmacology in sperm and the chemical features determining their effective properties. Finally, we show that Zn²⁺ suppresses the action of steroids and prostaglandins on CatSper, which might prevent premature prostaglandin activation of CatSper in the ejaculate, aiding sperm to escape from the ejaculate into the female genital tract. Altogether, our findings reinforce that human CatSper serves as a promiscuous chemosensor that enables sperm to probe the varying hormonal microenvironment prevailing at different stages during their journey across the female genital tract.

Transition from gynaecomastia to lipomastia in pubertal boys

OBJECTIVE

Gynaecomastia is frequent in pubertal boys and is regarded as a self-limiting abnormality. However, longitudinal studies proving this hypothesis are scarce.

DESIGN

Longitudinal follow-up study (median 2.4, range 1.0-4.8 years).

METHODS

The regression of breast diameter was analysed in 31 pubertal boys aged 11.7-16.1 (median 13.2) years with gynaecomastia. Furthermore, weight changes (as BMI-SDS) and pubertal stage, oestradiol [E2], oestriol, oestrone, androstenedione, testosterone [T], dihydrotestosterone, gonadotropins, IGF-1, and IGFBP-3 serum concentrations determined at first clinical presentation were related to breast diameter regression determined by palpation and disappearance of breast glandular tissue in ultrasound in follow-up to identify possible predictors of breast regression.

RESULTS

During the observation period, the breast diameter decreased (in median -1 (interquartile range [IQR] -5 to +1) cm). At follow-up, 6% of boys had no breast enlargement any more, and 65% developed lipomastia. Gynaecomastia was still present in 29%. None of the analysed hormones was related significantly to breast diameter regression or disappearance of breast glandular tissue. In multiple linear regression analyses adjusted for observational period, as well as age and BMI-SDS at first presentation, changes in BMI-SDS (β-coefficient 6.0 ± 2.3, p = .015) but not the E2/T ratio or any other hormone determined at baseline was related to changes in breast diameter.

CONCLUSIONS

Breast diameter regression seems not to be predictable by a hormone profile in pubertal boys with gynaecomastia. In pubertal boys presenting with gynaecomastia, conversion to lipomastia of smaller volume is common. The reduction of weight status was the best predictor of breast diameter regression.