In males a condition in which the body doesn’t produce enough testosterone (the male sex hormone) or if one has an impaired ability to produce sperm and/or both.
In females – a condition in which the body doesn’t produce enough oestrogen (the female sex hormone) or if one has an impaired ability to produce eggs or both.
Male/Female hypogonadism can begin during foetal development, before puberty or during adulthood.
There are different forms of female/male hypogonadism:
Males – Primary testicular failure (when the condition is with the testes i.e. structure and/or poor function)
Females – Primary ovarian failure (when the condition is with the ovaries i.e structure and/or poor function itself)
Secondary
Indicates a problem in the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland — parts of the brain that signal the testicles to produce testosterone (females – signals to ovaries to produce oestrogen)
The hypothalamus produces gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which signals the pituitary gland to make follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH).
Luteinizing hormone then signals the testes to produce testosterone (females – signal to ovaries to produce oestrogen).
Cause
General
Born with condition or develop later during puberty and/or adulthood
Undescended testicles (Before birth, the testicles develop inside the abdomen and normally move down into their permanent place in the scrotum. Sometimes one or both of the testicles may not be descended at birth. This condition often corrects itself within the first few years of life without treatment. If not corrected in early childhood, it may lead to malfunction of the testicles and reduced production of testosterone)
Normal aging – Older men generally have lower testosterone levels than younger men do. As men age, there’s a slow and continuous decrease in testosterone production (females the same- reduce in oestrogen)
Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice
Detailed Information
Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Male and Female Hypogonadism in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).
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