Observations on the Role of Androgens and Estrogens in Body Balance

Abstract

The increased growth of the body as a whole at the time of sexual maturation early suggested a causal interrelationship of these two phenomena. This was further emphasized by the development of precocious puberty in association with gonadal tumors. In this situation a rapid increase in body weight and height, maturation of the musculature and skeleton, deepening of the voice, and growth of sexual hair may be observed together with precocious development of the genitalia. When the gonadal steroids became available for study in man, Kenyon and his co-workers ¹ demonstrated that testosterone propionate exerts anabolic effects on tissues other than those of the genital system. Thus a person eating a constant diet may gain as much as 9 kg. in body weight during testosterone administration, which is more than can be accounted for by growth of the genitals. Metabolic balance studies have shown that under the influence of androgenic