1. Serial Inhibin B Measurements in Boys with Congenital Monorchism Indicate Compensatory Testicular Hypertrophy in Early Infancy
- Author
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Erik Clasen-Linde, Dina Cortes, Simone Hildorf, Jorgen Thorup, and Magdalena Fossum
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,business.industry ,Multiple of the median ,Urology ,Infant ,Hypertrophy ,Unilateral cryptorchidism ,Third trimester ,Early infancy ,medicine.disease ,Muscle hypertrophy ,Monorchism ,Child, Preschool ,Cryptorchidism ,Testis ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Humans ,Medicine ,Inhibins ,Surgery ,Compensatory hypertrophy ,business ,Inhibin b - Abstract
Aim Congenital monorchism is considered a condition in which an initially normal testis has existed but subsequently atrophied and disappeared due to a third trimester catastrophe (presumably torsion). Since inhibin B concentrations appear related to Sertoli and germ cells number, we evaluated pre- and postoperative inhibin B of boys with congenital monorchism to determine whether the well-known hypertrophy of the contralateral testis was reflected in inhibin B concentrations. Materials and Methods Twenty-seven boys consecutively diagnosed with congenital monorchism (median age 12 months) underwent follow-up with reproductive hormones 1 year postoperatively (median age 25 months). The results were compared with inhibin B of 225 boys with congenital nonsyndromic unilateral cryptorchidism, by converting values to multiple of the median (MoM) for age in normal boys. Results Ten boys (37%) had blind-ending vessels and ductus deferens (vanished testis) and the remaining (63%) had testicular remnants. At the time of diagnostic procedure, monorchid boys did not have significantly lower inhibin B (median 114, range 20–208) than unilateral cryptorchid boys (136, 47–393) (p = 0.27). During follow-up, MoM values of inhibin B increased in monorchid boys (median 0.59 to 0.98) and in unilateral cryptorchid boys (0.69 to 0.89) (both p Conclusion Generally, inhibin B MoM values were normalized during follow-up in boys with congenital monorchism, reflecting compensatory hypertrophy within the first 2.5 years of life. The compensatory capacity to increase was better in monorchism than in unilateral cryptorchidism.
- Published
- 2021
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