Transient Increase in Postnatal Testicular Activity Is Not Revealed by Longitudinal Measurements of Salivary Testosterone

Huhtaniemi, Ilpo; Dunkel, Leo; Perheentupa, Jaakko

doi:10.1203/00006450-198612000-00028

Cited by 32 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Our study confirms previous reports [1,2,9] where serum total T was found to be transiently elevated during the first postnatal months with peaks at 1-4 months. In contrast to previous studies [2,9,10], our study shows that salivary T levels in infants peak between 1 and 2 months when measured by LC-MS/MS, declining thereafter. Mean serum total T was higher in adolescents than in infants in our study, but there was no statistical difference between the 2 due to a small sample size.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Huhtaniemi et al [9] and Cho et al [10] each measured salivary T using RIA during infancy. They reported contrasting results with peaks in salivary T at 7-10 days and 4 months, respectively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assays in saliva provide us with a noninvasive way of monitoring steroid hormone levels, and are, therefore, a more direct indicator of biologically active hormone secretion. Earlier reports of unbound T values in early infancy that were calculated [2,6,8] or measured by RIA [9] are inconsistent. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has higher sensitivity and precision when measuring low levels of steroids.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Salivary Testosterone during the Minipuberty of Infancy

Contreras¹,

Raisingani²,

Chandler³

et al. 2017

Horm Res Paediatr

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Background: The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is transiently activated during the postnatal months in boys, a phenomenon termed “minipuberty” of infancy, when serum testosterone (T) increases to pubertal levels. Despite high circulating T there are no signs of virilization. We hypothesize that free T as measured in saliva is low, which would explain the absence of virilization. Methods: We measured serum total T and free T in saliva using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in 30 infant boys, aged 1–6 months, and in 12 adolescents, aged 11–17 years. Results: Total serum T in all infants was, as expected, high (172 ± 78 ng/dL) while salivary T was low (7.7 ± 4 pg/mL or 0.45 ± 0.20%). In contrast, salivary T in the adolescents was much higher (41 ± 18 pg/mL or 1.3 ± 0.36%) in relation to their total serum T (323 ± 117 ng/dL). We provide for the first time reference data for salivary T in infants. Conclusion: Measurement of salivary T by LC-MS/MS is a promising noninvasive technique to reflect free T in infants. The low free T explains the absence of virilization. The minipuberty of infancy is more likely of intragonadal than peripheral significance.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Salivary Testosterone during the Minipuberty of Infancy

Contreras¹,

Raisingani²,

Chandler³

et al. 2017

Horm Res Paediatr

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“…The tes tosterone produced during this interval may have low bioavailability owing to the rise in sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) at this time (26)(27)(28). However, cellular level bioassay reveals biologically active androgens in male infants at 3 months of age (29).…”

Section: Normative Physiology Of Testosterone and Male Cns Developmenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postnatal testosterone may be an important mediator of the association between prematurity and male neurodevelopmental disorders: a hypothesis

Rice

2017

International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health

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Children born premature are at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and schizophrenia. This piece advances the hypothesis that altered androgen exposure observed in premature infants is an important mediator of the neurodevelopmental risk in males associated with prematurity. Specifically, the alterations of normative physiologic postnatal activations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis that occur in preterm males are hypothesized to contribute to the risk of neuropsychiatric pathology of prematurity through altered androgen-mediated organizational effects on the developing brain. The physiology of testosterone and male central nervous system development in full-term births is reviewed and compared to the developmental processes of prematurity. The effects of the altered testosterone physiology observed within prematurity outside of the central nervous system are reviewed as a segue into a discussion of the effects within the nervous system, with a special focus on autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The explanatory power of this model is reviewed as a supplement to the preexisting models of prematurity and neurodevelopmental risk, including infection and other perinatal central nervous system insults. The emphasis is placed on altered androgen exposure as serving as just one among many mediators of neurodevelopmental risk that may be of interest for further research and evidence-based investigation. Implications for diagnosis, management and preventative treatments conclude the piece.

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“…In infant boys, serum testosterone levels increase to peak levels around 3 months of age and fall to prepubertal values around 6 months of age (Forest et al, 1974). Although levels of free testosterone in infancy are much lower than that in adulthood (de Ronde et al, 2005;Huhtaniemi et al, 1986), the postnatal increase in testosterone levels is critical for the normal development of male genitalia (Main et al, 2005) and higher postnatal salivary testosterone in boys predicts greater male-typical visual interests during early infancy (Alexander et al, 2009a). Significantly, the hypothesis that androgens levels in the early postnatal period may contribute to the organization of sex-linked behavior in humans (Alexander and Saenz, 2011;Alexander et al, 2009a) is supported by recent findings that postnatal urinary testosterone levels are associated with greater male-typical play behavior and less female-typical play behavior in girls and boys, respectively, at 14-months of age (Lamminmaki et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%