Functional and post-oral contraceptive amenorrhoea: response to luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH).

Basal levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in serum and their response to the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH) were measured in a group of patients with functional amenorrhoea. The results in this group were compared to those obtained in a second group of patients with secondary amenorrhoea which had followed cessation of a combined oral contraceptive. No difference either in the basal levels or in the response to LH-RH could be found. These data indicate that there is no detectable difference in pituitary gonadotrophin status between the two groups and that the two types of amenorrhoea have ghe same aetiological background.