Chronic administration of GnRH agonists “down regulates” the pituitary and decreases
LH and FSH serum levels. Changes in the bioactivity of FSH have not been adequately
assessed under such treatment, for lack of a proper test. We examined serum changes
under GnRH agonist treatment among 12 healthy elderly men suffering only from benign
prostatic hypertrophy, for up to one year, using a modification of a granulosa cell
bioassay for the determination of FSH bioactivity. While radioimmunoassay-FSH decreased,
we noticed a significant increase in the bioactivity of this hormone. The clinical
importance of this increase is discussed.
FSH - GnRH - FSH-Bioactivity
