Luteinizing hormone measurement in polycystic ovary syndrome: a practical approach

The biological diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO) remains questio nable, and a single immunological hLH (ihLH) determination can be misleadin g. In order better to characterize these patients, we studied hLH pulsatili ty every 10 min for 4 h using a radioimmunoassay and then compared the resu lts with others we obtained with a biological method. Radioimmunological an d biological profiles were similar in patients with PCO and in controls. We also studied pulsatility characteristics - frequency and amplitude - and c alculated the area under the curve (AUC). There was no significant increase in frequency in our 10 patients with PCO but, as in other studies, increas ed amplitude of hLH pulses was observed. The most discriminating parameter was the AUG. For practical purposes, we propose that hLH in patients with P CO could be assessed efficiently by taking four samples every 10 min, with computerized calculation of the AUC.