Gonadotropin releasing hormone test: diagnostic significance and limits in menstrual pathology.

The serum gonadotropin response to LH-RH (100 mug e.v.) in a group of women with various types of amenorrhea was critically evaluated. Most patients responded to rapid LH-RH injection with a significant rise in plasma LH and FSH. In the authors' opinion this response is observed in healthy women as well as in those with lesions, even severe ones, of the pituitary, so that quantification of the response does not supply reliable information on diagnosis and prognosis. On the other hand, a negative response to the injection of 100 mug LH-RH does not necessarily imply a pituitary lesion but is often a sign of altered hypothalamic function which can be diagnosed and in some instances restored by clomiphene administration.