24-Hour Urinary Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) Excretion in Normal Children

Abstract

Luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were measured by radioimmunoassays (RIA) in extracts of 153 24-hr urine specimens from 42 normal children ages 5–10. The results were compared with previously reported measurements on the same specimens by the mouse uterine weight assay (1). LH and FSH could be measured in nearly every sample. A bimodal pattern of LH excretion was found in most of the children studied. LH excretion was characterized by relatively constant daily urinary excretion levels punctuated by intermittent bursts of increased excretion occurring approximately 1 out of 6 days. FSH excretion was similar, but FSH peaks were not as prominent and were not always coincident with LH peaks. The RIA measurements in those specimens which had been negative on the bioassay showed small increases in urinary LH and FSH excretion during childhood. The increase for LH was gradual; FSH excretion doubled between ages 5–6 and 7–8. No significant differences in the excretion of LH or FSH between boys and girls appeared until the age group 9–10, when LH was significantly higher in boys, and FSH was higher in girls. There were no marked increases in urinary LH excretion just prior to, or coincident with, the appearance of the earliest physical changes of puberty. Comparison of the radioimmunoassay results and the results of the mouse uterine weight assay showed that the LH content but not the FSH content of the urine was correlated with the bioassay results.