Effect of aqueous Neem (azadirachta indica) extract on testosterone and other blood constituents in male rats: a pilot study

Effect of oral administration of crude aqueous neem extract on serum testosterone and other blood constituents was studied in the male Wistar rats for 10 weeks. The neem treatment resulted in significant decreases (p,0.01) in total testosterone, total bilirubin and K+ in serum. There were also increases (p<0.05) in packed cell volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, red blood cell, white blood cell and lymphocyte counts without showing any cytotoxic effects in the body.

The mechanism of low testosterone levels in homozygous sickle-cell disease

Significantly lower testosterone levels are common in male patients with homozygous sickle-cell (SS) disease and have been attributed to either abnormalities of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis or primary testicular failure. The mechanism has now been investigated by observing the response to gonadrotropinthytotropin releasing hormones (GnRH-TRH) in 10 male patients with SS disease and in 10 matched male sibling controls without sickle-cell disease. Mean basal levels of luteninizing hormone (LH) follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) and thyrotropin (TSH) were significantly elevated but prolactin (RL) levels were within the normal range in the SS group. All hormones increased following GnRH-TRH, and proportionate increases over baseline were similar for FSH and TSH in SS and AA subjects, but SS patients showed a lesser percentage increase in LH at 30 minutes, and a higher percentage increase in PRL at 60 minutes. These observations are more consistent with primary testicular failure than with adnormalities of the hypothalmic-pituitaty-testiculat axis.

The thyroid gland

The objectives of this programme is to provide the student with the knowledge of thyroid gland activity and a basis for the assessment of thyroid functions