Effects of high doses of oestrogens and androgens on lipoproteins: observations in the treatment of excessive growth with sexual hormones.

In a prospective study we investigated the changes of lipoprotein metabolism under therapy with high doses of oestrogens or androgens, applied to stop the excessive growth of very tall girls or boys. Therapy with 2 mg ethinyl oestradiol sulfonate per week for one year in 11 girls resulted in an increase in serum triglycerides, which was reversible after cessation, and a minimal rise of total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol in the phase of adaptation to this treatment. Therapy with 1000 mg testosterone oenanthate per month for one year lead to a fall of triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol. These changes are considered as a regulative phenomenon, without consequences for the application of the high dosage therapy with these steroid hormones in the treatment of excessive growth.

Effects of sexual maturation on serum lipoproteins.

In 503 healthy Dresden children aged 1 to 17 years we evaluated triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) concentrations. The mean TG level decreases up to the 7th year of life followed by a slow increase. During adolescence we found a difference with higher TG levels in females than in males. TC concentrations remain constant from the first to the 11th year of life in both boys and girls. In the 12th and 13th year TC sharply decreases in girls followed by a rise one year later. The same phenomenon occurs in males 1-2 years later. In a second study 372 pupils were investigated consisting to two age groups: 250 boys and girls aged 8 years and 167 young men and women aged 17 years. We estimated TG, TC, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and in quite a number of cases HDL apoproteins, estradiol (E2), and testosterone (T). HDL-C concentrations do not differ between sexes in childhood, whereas they do after puberty. We found reduced HDL-C levels in young men. The apoprotein pattern of HDL in male adolescents differs from those of boys, girls, and young women showing an increased relative amount of apo A II. The comparison of E2 and T levels with HDL-C concentrations allows to draw conclusions on the importance of testosterone for the HDL metabolism

[Pregnancy, oral hormonal contraception and lipid bile composition]. / Schwangerschaft, orale hormonale Kontrazeption und Gallenlipidzusammensetzung.

PIP: 67 pregnant women; 46 women using oral hormonal contraceptives; and a control group of 44 women were studied to determine the effect of pregnancy and oral hormonal contraceptive use on the lipid bile composition. The bile specimens were obtained with a duodenal probe and chemically analyzed for bile acid, phospholipid, and cholesterol concentration. A relative cholesterol supersaturation of the bile is associated with pregnancy, especially during the last trimester. A drop in this relative cholesterol supersaturation was observed in 18 women who were examined 2 months postpartum. The bile more frequently showed cholesterol supersaturation among the women who used oral contraceptives than among the control group. A cholesterol supersaturation of the bile is a major factor in the formation of gallstones, so that an increase in the incidence of gallstone formation among women using oral hormonal contraceptives is anticipated.^ieng