Methylphenidate is a commonly prescribed treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, little is known about its adverse effects on the male reproductive system. We report a 20-year-old male patient whose chief complaint was of delayed puberty. He spoke in a high-pitched voice and complained of lack of body hair, impaired libido, inadequate erectile function, chronic fatigue, and low energy. He had been treated with methylphenidate as an infant and had continued treatment for 17 years. On examination, the patient was lean and visibly lacked facial or body hair. He further explained that he had never been able to grow underarm or facial hair and that he was often mistakenly considered a young teenager rather than a 20-year-old. The patient's genitalia were categorized as Tanner Stage 2. Laboratory studies confirmed low serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone levels. The patient was given exogenous testosterone supplementation with pellets and human chorionic gonadotropin to maintain testicular size. After 4 months his symptoms improved and he demonstrated signs of puberty. Our goal is to further elucidate the possible impact of methylphenidate on the male reproductive system.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
1
3%
Unknown
17
53%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 14. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 April 2025.
All research outputs
#3,377,273
of 34,575,175 outputs
Outputs from F1000 Research
#993
of 7,255 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#28,952
of 281,145 outputs
Outputs of similar age from F1000 Research
#17
of 97 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,575,175 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 90th percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 7,255 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 10.4. This one has done well, scoring higher than 86% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 281,145 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 89% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 97 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 82% of its contemporaries.
