Serum prolactin and radiological skull examinations in infertile men with azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia

Abstract

Measurements of serum prolactin, FSH, LH, testosterone, and oestradiol and radiological examinations of the skull were carried out in 142 infertile men with sperm counts below 10 millions/ml. The prolactin levels were compared to those observed in 27 fertile men. Six of the infertile men showed high levels of prolactin. Two of these men had earlier been hypophysectomized, and the sella turcica was found to be abnormal on the roentgenograms. In the remaining four men the sella turcica was normal, and serum gonadotrophins, testosterone and oestradiol were within normal range, except for one man who displayed a very high FSH. The testis biopsies from these four men showed severe hypoplasia, signalling that treatment of the infertility with bromocriptine may be of limited value.