17-ketosteroids and Spinal-Cord-Injuries

Concentrations of testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in serum and 17-ketosteroids (17-KS) in urine of 10 paraplegic and 10 quadriplegic subjects were measured from onset of injury and followed once a week for 4 months. Compared with age-matched normal controls, paraplegic subjects showed significantly lower serum levels of LH and FSH for 2 weeks and of testosterone for 6 weeks after spinal cord trauma, following which periods of time these hormones attained normal levels. By contrast, in quadriplegic subjects, serum testosterone concentrations remained significantly lower than those of the controls during the entire 4-month testing period. Furthermore, in another group of 10 chronic (1 to 6 years after onset of injury) paraplegic and 10 chronic quadriplegic subjects, serum testosterone and FSH concentrations were comparable to those of the normal controls. Serum LH concentrations were at control levels in chronic paraplegic but significantly depressed in chronic quadriplegic subjects. The concentrations of urinary 17-KS exhibited sharp fluctuations over the 4-month period and were below control levels in paraplegic but within control limits in quadriplegic subjects. The results indicate that the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is disturbed for at least 4 months in quadriplegic subjects.

Topics: 17-Ketosteroids; Adult; Chronic Disease; Follicle Stimulating Hormone; Humans; Luteinizing Hormone; Male; Paraplegia; Quadriplegia; Spinal Cord Injuries; Testosterone

Topics: 17-Hydroxycorticosteroids; 17-Ketosteroids; Adolescent; Adrenal Cortex; Adrenal Glands; Birth Injuries; Child; Child, Preschool; Dehydroepiandrosterone; Humans; Hypothalamus; Pituitary Gland; Spinal Cord Injuries

Topics: 17-Ketosteroids; Anemia; Anemia, Hypochromic; Blood Cell Count; Blood Chemical Analysis; Blood Protein Electrophoresis; Blood Sedimentation; Cholesterol; Erythrocyte Count; Follow-Up Studies; Friedreich Ataxia; Hemoglobinometry; Humans; Liver Diseases; Multiple Sclerosis; Myelitis; Neurosyphilis; Paraplegia; Poliomyelitis; Spinal Cord Injuries; Spinal Cord Neoplasms; Suppuration; Thyroid Function Tests; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis, Spinal; Urine

Topics: 17-Ketosteroids; Endocrine Glands; Humans; Iodine Isotopes; Pituitary Gland; Pituitary-Adrenal Function Tests; Spinal Cord Injuries; Thyroid Function Tests

Topics: 17-Ketosteroids; Humans; Spinal Cord Injuries; Urology

Topics: 17-Ketosteroids; Androgens; Estrogens; Gonadotropins; Humans; Paralysis; Spinal Cord; Spinal Cord Injuries