Gonadotropin secretion pattern in bulimia nervosa

✍ Scribed by Pirke, Karl M. ;Fichter, Manfred M. ;Schweiger, Ulrich ;Fruth, Claudia ;Streitmatter, Anna ;Wolfram, Günther

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 361 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0276-3478
• DOI: 10.1002/1098-108x(198709)6:5<655::aid-eat2260060509>3.0.co;2-d

✦ Synopsis

The secretion pattern of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) was studied in 75 normal-weight patients with bulimia over a 12-hour period during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. There were 12 agematched young women who served as controls. Mean 72-hour FSH values were significantly decreased in bulimia; FSH peak height and frequency were not significantly different. Although bulimic patients as a group exhibited no significant changes in LH secretion, five patients showed decreased mean 72-hour levels and a lower average LH peak.

Disturbances in the menstrual cycle are observed frequently in bulimia nervosa. Up to 50% of all patients report amenorrhoea or oligomenorrhoea (Gwirtsman et al., 1983; Pirke et al., 1985). In a recent study of 15 bulimic patients, estradiol (E2), progesterone (P), and luteinizing hormone (LH) in plasma were followed for one menstrual cycle or over a 6-week period (Pirke et al., 1987). Hormone secretion was normal in only one patient. Seven patients showed either impaired or absent follicular development, whereas follicular development in seven others was normal during the follicular phase but progesterone secretion was impaired and shortened during the luteal phase. This study evaluates luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion patterns over a 12-hour period in patients with bulimia and in normal controls in order to gain insight into the mechanisms responsible for menstrual cycle disturbances in bulimia.