Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26945370›Full record

Observational studyMedicine2016

Efficacy and Outcome Predictors of Gonadotropin Treatment for Male Congenital Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism: A Retrospective Study of 223 Patients.

Zhaoxiang Liu, Jangfeng Mao, Xueyan Wu, Hongli Xu, Xi Wang, Bingkun Huang, Junjie Zheng, Min Nie, Hongbing Zhang

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
4.8field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  7. Article
  8. Evaluating Sperm Recovery Time and Efficacy of MonotherapyThe world journal of men's health · 2025
    Article
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  17. Clinical Use of FSH in Male Infertility.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2019
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Zhaoxiang LiuFrom the Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, National Health and Family Planning Commission, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (ZL, JM, XW, HX, XW, BH, JZ, MN), and Department of Physiology, State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (HZ), Beijing, China.
Jangfeng Mao
Xueyan Wu
Hongli Xu
Xi Wang
Bingkun Huang
Junjie Zheng
Min Nie
Hongbing Zhang
Apple (Israel) · IL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Gonadotropin induces masculinization and spermatogenesis in men with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH). However, large cohort studies for the efficacy and reliable predictors of this therapy need to be conducted. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of gonadotropin treatment in a large cohort of male CHH patients and analyze putative predictors for successful spermatogenesis. This retrospective study included 223 CHH azoospermic patients without puberty development treated between 2005 and 2014. All patients received combined human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) and were followed up for >6 months (5109 person-months). Serum total testosterone level, testicular size, spermatogenesis, and pregnancy outcome were recorded at each visit. After gonadotropin therapy, testicular size was enlarged from 2.1 ± 1.6 to 8.1 ± 4.6 mL (P < 0.001) and serum total testosterone was elevated from 0.9 ± 0.5 to 15.1 ± 8.2 nmol/L (P < 0.001). Spermatogenesis (>0/mL) occurred at a median period of 15 months (95% confidence interval 13.5-16.5). Larger basal testicular volume (P = 0.012) and noncryptorchidism history (P = 0.028) are independent predictors for earlier sperm appearance. Sixty four percent (143/223) of patients succeeded in producing sperms and the average time for initial sperm detection was 14 ± 8 months. However, their sperm concentrations (11.7 [2.1, 24.4] million/mL) and sperm progressive motility (A + B 36.9% ± 20.2%) are significantly lower than World Health Organization standards. Of the 34 patients who desired for fathering children, 19 patients impregnanted their partners during the treatment. Gonadotropin therapy induces spermatogenesis in male CHH patients. A larger basal testicular size and noncryptorchidism history are favorable indicators for earlier spermatogenesis.

Indexed as

Chorionic GonadotropinDrug Therapy, CombinationHumansHypogonadismMaleMenotropinsRetrospective StudiesSpermatogenesisTreatment OutcomeYoung AdultChorionic GonadotropinMenotropins

Identifiers

PMID26945370
PMCPMC4782854
OpenAlexW2296707331

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.