Psychoendocrine sequelae of chronic testosterone deficiency

Abstract

The precise role of testosterone in regulating mood, especially in alleviating depression, remains unclear although converging evidence indicates that androgens may exert antidepressant action. A model that may potentially assist in the clarification of androgen-mediated effects on mood is the study of cryptorchid men who may grow up with varying degrees of testosterone deficiency depending on the time in their life when cryptorchism is corrected. In this report, we describe a rare case of bilateral cryptorchism that did not come to the attention of the physician to implement effective substitution with testosterone until much later in adult life. The patient developed severe and suicidal depression which responded solely to testosterone. In addition, the patient experienced a delayed but accelerated puberty without any adverse events. These observations, although based on a single case, provide strong evidence that testosterone may exert powerful antidepressant action in the absence of concomitant antidepressant agents.