Hypogonadism occurs when your sex glands produce little or no sex hormones. The sex glands, also called gonads, are primarily the testes in men. Sex hormones help control secondary sex characteristics, such as breast development in women, testicular development in men, and pubic hair growth. Sex hormones also play a role in the menstrual cycle and sperm production. Hypogonadism may also be known as gonad deficiency. It may be called low serum testosterone or andropause when it happens in males.
There two types of hypogonadism are primary and central hypogonadism.
1. Primary Hypogonadism:
Primary hypogonadism means that you don’t have enough sex hormones in your body due to a problem in your gonads. Your gonads are still receiving the message to produce hormones from your brain, but they aren’t able to produce them.
2. Central Hypogonadism (Secondary Hypogonadism)
In central hypogonadism, the problem lies in your brain. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland in your brain, which control your gonads, aren’t working properly.