Altered serum profile of inhibin B, Pro-alphaC and anti-Müllerian hormone in prepubertal and pubertal boys with varicocele

TRIGO RV; BERGADÁ I; REY RA; BALLERINI MG; BEDECARRÁS P; BERGADÁ C; GOTTLIEB S; CAMPO SM

CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2004

0300-0664

OBJECTIVEAnti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and inhibinB are reliable markers of Sertoli cell function. The aimof the present study was to assess the functional stateof Sertoli cells in order to detect early changes in thetesticular function of prepubertal and pubertal patientswith untreated grade II or III varicocele.DESIGNANDPATIENTSSeven prepubertal and 55pubertal boys with untreated grade II or III varicocelewere studied. Seven prepubertal and 43 pubertalnormal boys were considered as controls.MEASUREMENTSSerum levels of gonadotrophins,testosterone, inhibin B and Pro-αC and AMH weredetermined by time-resolved immunofluorometricassays, radioimmunoassay (RIA) and specific enzymelinkedimmunosorbent assays (ELISAs), respectively.RESULTSInhibin B and Pro-αC serum levels werehigher in prepubertal patients with varicocele than incontrols (P