Klinefelter's syndrome: experiences with 24 patients.

Twenty-four karotypically proven patients with Klinefelter's syndrome were studied. The majority suffered from disorders of personality and social adjustment. All were poorly educated. Two-thirds showed gynaecomastia and all had small testes. Eunuchoid body proportions were seen in the majority of patients. Half the patients had plasma androgen levels in the low normal range; in the rest the levels were subnormal. The serum LH level was elevated in 80% and could not be adequately suppressed by exogenous androgens in seven out of nine patients. Abnormalities of carbohydrate metabolism were demonstrated in seven patients. Bilateral mastectomy was a valuable form of therapy, but androgens were withheld for phychosocial reasons.