MODIFICATION BY SEX STEROIDS OF LHRH RESPONSE IN THE POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME

Abstract

Exogenously administered estradiol or progesterone induced augmentation of LH and FSH [luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, respectively] release in response to LHRH [luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone] administration in patients with the polycystic ovary (PCO) syndrome. The effect of estradiol upon LH release in the patients was significantly less than the augmented release induced in normal women (P < 0.02). Progesterone induced a significantly greater LH release in PCO patients than normal women studied during the early follicular phase (P < 0.001) but less than that in normal women studied during the mid-follicular phase of the cycle (P < 0.01). The effects on FSH release in the PCO patients were less marked but similar to those in normal women with comparable basal steroid levels. Both estradiol and progesterone can probably modify the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in the PCO syndrome in a manner similar to that observed in normal women, and a failure of these positive feedback mechanisms does not appear to be the cause of the ovulatory deficiency in this syndrome.