Plasma inhibin levels in men with chemotherapy-induced severe damage to the seminiferous epithelium.

Abstract

Immunoreactive plasma inhibin levels and free testosterone index (FTI) were estimated in 17 patients who had previously received combination chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease and in 16 age-matched controls. In the same patients we had previously found significantly raised FSH and LH levels in the presence of normal basal and HCG-stimulated total testosterone levels. Mean plasma inhibin levels were not different between the patients (601 +/- 321 U/l) and controls (530 +/- 174 U/l) nor were FTI values (81.5 +/- 35 vs 91 +/- 47 respectively). There was a positive correlation (r = 0.53, P less than 0.05) between FSH and inhibin levels and a negative correlation between FSH and FTI (r = -0.51, P less than 0.05) in the patients but not in the controls. No such correlations with inhibin or FTI existed for LH but there was a positive correlation between LH and FSH levels in the patients. In four patients inhibin levels were pathologically raised and in this group mean FSH values (21.7 +/- 4.7 IU/l) were higher (P less than 0.001) and mean FTI (59.1 +/- 22.6) lower (P less than 0.001) than respective values (13.6 +/- 5.3 IU/l and 88.4 +/- 35) for the remainder of the patients. These data are not compatible with the hypothesis that inhibin is the major negative feedback signal for the control of FSH secretion.