Elevated sex steroid hormones in great saphenous veins in men

Serum level of (a) estradiol, (b) testosterone, and (c) androstenedione in the arm/leg of (1) men with varicose veins (VM) and (2) healthy men (HM). 3, Serum level of estradiol and testosterone in legs of VM and HM. The edge of each box represents the quartiles, the horizontal line designates the median, and the whiskers represent the extreme values (outliners not shown).

Enzymes involved in steroid metabolism were down-regulated in samples from patients compared with controls: (a) 5α-reductase type 1, (b) 5α-reductase type 2, (c) 17, 20 lyase, (d) 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD), (e) aromatase, and (f) 3β-HSD type 2 expression. Gene expression of the enzymes of control samples was set at 100%, and messenger RNA (mRNA) gene expression of the enzymes in patient samples was calculated as the percentage of the change from control. Hormone receptors involved in steroid metabolism were down-regulated in patient samples compared with control. Expression of (g) androgen receptor and (h) estrogen receptor (ESR) type 1 was down-regulated in patient samples compared with controls. Gene expression of the hormone receptors of control samples was set at 100%, and mRNA gene expression of the enzymes in patient samples was calculated as the percentage of the change from control.