Hypergonadism - Pictures, Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

It is a condition in which hormonal imbalance occurs (reproductive hormones) like estrogen or testosterone and as a result excessive activity or hyper functioning of gonads takes place. The imbalance of the hormones can lead to the puberty at early stage, later in life or the patient can be born with this. It is a disease of endocrine glands. It can occur in both males and females but are more common in males. In hypergonadism the level of reproductive hormones increases and cause infertility in males and females. Hypergonadism is very rare.

To check the severity of hyper gonadism the tests are performed. The hormones whose levels are to be checked in males are testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and in females estrogen level is checked or hyper gonadism. In males, during early puberty there is an increase in secondary sexual characters due to the malignant tumor of testicles. The reproductive organ is abnormally developed in large size in both males and females. In females, early puberty occurs due to the ovarian malignant tumor (caused by lesions of adrenal gland mostly adenomas adeno carcinomas. Mental development is delayed along with sexual and physical development.

 Hypergonadism Pictures/Images

Hypergonadism Causes:

        
The main causes of hyper gonadism are:

•    Tumors (can be malignant tumor of testicles in males and ovarian in females but mostly benign)
•    Liver and kidney disease.
•    Any kind of infection.
•    Genetic hormonal abnormality
•    Surgery
•    Some auto immune disorders.
•    Development disorders by birth.
•    Hormonal imbalance ( the levels of testosterone and estrogen abnormally increases ).
•    Anabolic steroids can also be a major cause for high levels of androgen and estrogens.
•    Lesions of genital glands
•    Lesions in pineal gland
•    Dropsy of the ventricles of the brain.
•    Encephalitis.
•    Lesions in adrenal gland
•    Destruction of endocrine glands.

Hypergonadism Symptoms:

      
The most common visible symptoms are:

•    Premature development of sexual organs
•    Under developed bones
•    The appearance of mustache
•    Beard comes out in women.
•    Degeneration of muscles.
•    Loss of Menstruation
•    Breast enlargement
•    Abnormal increase in size of reproductive organ
•    Premature development of organ but have no power.
•    Sometimes sudden hot flashes of blood comes out in women.
•    Infertility
•    Lack of sexual desire in men and women
•    Loss of beard in men.
•    Acne
•    Early baldness
•    Deepening of voice in women
•    Irregular menstrual cycle
•    Coarse body hair in both genders specially in women
•    Increased facial hair growth in women
•    Excessive muscle mass.

Hypergonadism Treatment:

           
From treatment point of view it is difficult to treat hypergonadism because it is a difficult task to lower the hormonal level as it is already increased. The treatment of disease is totally depend upon the underlying cause. The treatment options include following:

1.    Surgical modification (rapid process)
2.    Hormonal therapy (slow process)

Medications used in hyper gonadism are as follows:

•    Clomid
•    Oxycontin
•    Arimidex
•    Vicodin
•    Nolvadex
•    Dhea
•    Testosterone
•    Sustanon
•    Dihydrotestosterone
 •    Support formula

Vitamins are also prescribed along with these medications

•    Zinc
•    Potassium citrate
•    Protein supplements.

If fertility is a concern then the patient should consult a reproductive endocrinologist.