Abstract
ABSTRACT The effect of LH-RH (luteinizing hormone releasing hormone) on plasma concentrations of LH, FSH, testosterone (T) and cortisol was studied in 13 normal men and in 9 men with adrenal, testicular, pituitary and hypothalamic disorders. Rapid and dose-dependent (25–100 μg LH-RH) increases in plasma LH were observed and reached peak levels 20–30 min after the intravenous LH-RH injections. No rise in plasma T was seen with these doses. During an 8½ hour infusion of 300 μg LH-RH a rapid increase of LH occurred and the levels remained elevated for the duration of the infusion. The increase in FSH was neither as great nor as constant. Following stimulation of LH and FSH, a statistically significant rise in plasma T occurred in the normal subjects (20–70 %). No effect of LH-RH on the adrenal cortex could be detected by measuring cortisol during the infusion. In 3 patients with Addison's disease the increase in testosterone did not differ from that in normal subjects. From these studies a LH-RH infusion test for pituitary and testicular function was designed: 50 μg LH-RH iv at 8 a. m. followed by 250 μg infusion from 8:30 a. m. to 4:30 p. m. The clinical value of the test has been demonstrated in patients with Klinefelter's syndrome, craniopharyngioma and Kallmann's syndrome. The test provides a useful method for localizing the lesions in disorders of the hypothalamo-pituitary-testicular axis.
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