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Gonadotrophin secretion abnormalities in chronic schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

I. N. Ferrier ,
P. M. Cotes ,
T. J. Crow  and
E. C. Johnstone
I. N. Ferrier*
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry and Division of Clinical Chemistry, Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex
P. M. Cotes
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry and Division of Clinical Chemistry, Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex
T. J. Crow
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry and Division of Clinical Chemistry, Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex
E. C. Johnstone
Affiliation:
Division of Psychiatry and Division of Clinical Chemistry, Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr I. N. Ferrier, Division of Psychiatry, Clinical Research Centre, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex HAl 3UJ.
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Synopsis

LH, FSH, PRL and testosterone were estimated by radioimmunoassay in serial venous samples from 20 male chronic schizophrenic patients, 17 age-matched controls, 3 patients in remission from acute schizophrenia, and in single samples from age–sex matched populations. LH and FSH, but not testosterone or PRL, were significantly reduced in patients with chronic schizophrenia. There was an associated reduction in the frequency, but not amplitude, of LH secretory episodes in patients with chronic schizophrenia. No abnormalities of LH secretion were detected in those patients in remission from acute schizophrenia. Fourteen of the chronic schizophrenic patients were retested at a later date with similar results, except in the case of the few patients who had been started on neuroleptic medication. Some relationships were established between hormonal secretion and the clinical features of these patients. The possible significance of these findings is discussed in the context of the complex control of gonadotrophin secretion from the anterior pituitary and the natural history and nature of chronic schizophrenia.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , May 1982 , pp. 263 - 273
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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