title: Pituitary function tests in black patients with pseudocyesis.
abstract: Pituitary function was evaluated in a group of 10 patients with pseudocyesis. One patient was postmenopausal; the remainder demonstrated normal basal prolactin, luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels and also normal pituitary-adrenal, pituitary-thyroid axes. Oestradiol deficiency was present in 6 patients, while 2 patients demonstrated elevated serum progesterone values, suggestive of a luteal phase. Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone administration resulted in exaggerated stimulation of LH and FSH in 4 and 2 patients, respectively. Impaired growth hormone (GH) secretion was present in 6 patients after insulin-induced hypoglycaemia and L-dopa administration. GH impairment is probably a consequence of the oestrogen deficiency that commonly occurs in this condition. It thus appears that there are aberrations in specific pituitary hormone responses after provocation in pseudocyesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Natal and King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Padayachi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ashe
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moodley
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jialal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010901:Pituitary Function Tests; D010907:Pituitary Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D011555:Pseudopregnancy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D010907:Pituitary Hormones