Gynecomastia
Definition
Gynecomastia is a common disease of the male breast where there is a benign glandular enlargement of that breast at some time in the male's life. It usually consists of the appearance of a flat pad of glandular tissue beneath a nipple which becomes tender at the same time. The development may be unilateral or bilateral. There is rarely a continued growth of the breast tissue; ordinarily the process is of brief duration and stops short of the production of permanent enlargement of the breast.
Causes
A great number of patients who suffer from this disease have a disturbance in the proper ratio of androgen and estrogen levels. The normal ratio of the two hormones in plasma is approximately 100:1. "The etiology of gynecomastia in patients with a known documented cause appears to be related to increased estrogen stimulation, decreased testosterone levels, or some alteration of the estrogens and androgen so that the androgen-estrogen ratio is decreased"(Williams 373). From this information it was discovered that there is also a lower ratio of weaker adrenal androgens (delta 4-androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone) found in youths with this disease. It was once believed that there was an imbalance in the ratios of testosterone to estrogen or estradiol, but this is now know to be untrue.
There are three areas the can be attributed to the cause of gynecomastia: physiologic, pathologic and pharmacologic. "Enlargement of the male breast can be a normal physiologic phenomenon at certain stages of life or the result of several pathologic states."(Isselbacher, 2037)
In the case of physiologic gynecomastia the disease can occur in a newborn baby, at puberty or at any time in a man's life. In the newborn, transient enlargement of the breast is due to the action of maternal and/or placental estrogens. The enlargement usually disappears within a few weeks. Adolescent gynecomastia is common during puberty with the onset at the median age of 14. It is often asymmetrical and frequently tender.
It regresses so that by the age of 20 only a small number of men have palpable vestiges of gynecomastia in one or both the breasts. Gynecomastia of aging also occurs in otherwise healthy men. Forty percent or more of aged men have gynecomastia. One explanation is the increase in age in the conversion of androgens to estrogens in extra-
glandular tissues. Drug therapy and abnormal liver functioning can also be causes of gynecomastia in older men.
Several effects of steroid use have been identified. These include an increase in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and a decrease in high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. These lipid changes if allowed to continue over long periods of time could result in coronary heart disease (6). Some other side effects of steroids in men include shrinking of the testicles; reduced sperm count, infertility, baldness, development of breasts, and increased risk of pro...
It is associated with a higher risk of pregnancy complications and certain ovarian cancers. Due to the importance of this condition, it is critical that patients understand its causes, symptoms, and treatment. By the end of this article, you will have the answers to these essential questions:
Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome occurs when the body is unable to use androgens at all. Affected individuals with this form have the external sex characteristics of females, but do not have a uterus, will not menstruate, and are infertile. They also will not have axillary or pubic hair, or acne which is linked to puberty. Androgen insensitivity syndrome individuals develop internal male sex organs. Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (Reifenstein syndrome) is when the body’s tissues are partially sensitive to the effects of androgens. Affected individuals can have normal female sex characteristics, both male and female sex characteristics, or normal male sex characteristics. An individual may be brought up as a male then u...
Associating hormones with a certain gender can be a bit of a misnomer, as women also make testosterone, although in much smaller amounts. Likewise, the liver converts some of a man’s testosterone and fat tissue into estrogen.
Lastly one of the common male effect is testicular atrophy. Testicular atrophy is a medical condition in which the testicles located in the sack, also known as the scrotum diminish in size. In a result of using steroids, testicular atrophy occurs when there has been a decreased level of luteinizing hormone, in which it is produced inside the male anatomy by the pituitary gland.
Steroids occur naturally in our bodies. The major anabolic steroid found in our bodies is testosterone. (1) AAS is derived synthetically from testosterone. (3) Testosterone is the main sex hormone in males and is responsible for the growth effects during the years of male adolescence and into later years of adulthood. Nearly every cell in the body has proteins that act as receptors for AAS. Therefore the anabolic and androgenic response in the body is determined by the location and type of the cells and the nature of the steroid. (7) This hormone has two major effects on one’s body. The Anabolic effect promotes muscle growth by increasing the rate of protein synthesis within each cell. The Androgenic effects in testosterone are primarily responsible for traits in males such as the deepening of one's voice and the growth of facial hair. (1)
Extremely large breasts can cause a range of health problems that may affect a woman's ability to perform basic daily tasks. Overly large and disproportionate breasts make activities like standing, sitting or even sleeping difficult. Large breasts create constant weight on the shoulders; that weight causes pain and alters posture. The medical term for the condition is macromastia and there are both surgical and nonsurgical ways to treat it.
Ways to early detect would be self-breast exams at home, annual mammograms and genetic testing for the BCRA1 and the BCRA2 abnormal gene. It has been said that when people are tested for the abnormal gene and are found to carry it, it is normally passed from either parent. Not only do women develop breast cancer, but men are also at risk. If detection is caught early enough there can be a high survival rate. Some symptoms and signs are a lump, change in size or shape of breast, nipple pain, discharge or bleeding of the nipple, change of skin color and texture, or breast becoming swollen or feels warm. It is advised to seek medical attention upon discovery of signs and symptoms. It can possibly allow a better treatment option for
Sharpe, Richard M. and Niels Skakkebaek. 1993. Are oestrogens involved in falling sperm counts and disorders of the male reproductive tract? Lancet
...obules, paget disease of the nipple, which starts in the breast ducts and spreads into the nipple, and inflammatory breast cancer, which makes the breast very tender to the touch instead of forming a lump.
Anabolic steroids are a type of synthetic drug that are aimed to copy the effects of the hormone testosterone. What this does is boost the levels of development of male reproductive tissues which i...
Physicians are witnessing an explosion of interest in testosterone replacement therapy for both men and women. This is due in part to medical recognition of the condition of andropause - which has been described as being the male counterpart of menopause and is precipitated by hypogonadism, or testosterone deficiency.
... male breast cancers are established when a man discovers a lump on his chest. However unlike women, men tend to postponement going to the doctor until they have more severe symptoms, like bleeding from the nipple. It’s like the man are scared to go to the doctor are something. But sadly at that point the cancer have already spread if blood is coming from the nipple.
While the symptoms are all the same, many different names have been attributed to menopause-like symptoms in males. Some physicians use the term “SLOH” or “Symptomatic Late Onset Hypogonadism” to describe andropause while others who prefer to label it a deficiency refer to it as ‘”ADAM” or “androgen deficiency of the male”. Whether or not andropause should be treated depends on one’s physician’s opinion on the matter. Some believe that andropause is a natural state that all aging males undergo and that it shouldn’t be treated as a medical abnormality while others believe that there are considerable positive effects of hormone therapy. Supporters of hormone therapy do not agree with the idea that lower hormone levels are simply a natural process of aging. They point out that as life expectancy has increased, so has the need to treat aging-related hormonal shifts. In order to form an opinion on whether andropause should be considered a treatable disease, it’s important to understand its physiological process and an underlying condition known as “adrenopause”.
There are several symptoms that can be used to detect the condition. It leads to the growth of the child in muscles, height and organs and hence the child being larger or bigger than his or her age. Other symptoms include; irregular periods, release of breast milk, weakness, increased sweating, thickening of the facial features, large hands and feet with thick fingers and toes, headache, delayed puberty, frontal bossing and a prominent jaw and double vision or difficulty with side vision. There are also some signs and test that can validate gigantism. The tests are; increased Insulin Growth Factor-I (IGF-1) levels, CT or MRI scan of the head showing pituitary tumor, high prolactin levels and failure to suppress serum Growth Hormone (GH) levels after an oral glucose challenge (maximum 75g). Damage to the pituitary generally leads to low levels of other hormones among the...