[Gonadal and gonadotropic function of late middle-aged men and women with sequelae of ischemic stroke].

In a comparative study the authors determined peripheral blood concentrations of immunoreactive testosterone, estradiol, LH, FSH, and prolactin in 32 males and 21 females, aged 60-74 years, with consequences of ischemic stroke, and in clinically normal elderly subjects. A control group was composed of healthy young people aged 20 to 35 years. It was found that in males and females with a history of stroke secretory insufficiency of the gonads and changes in the gonadotropic function of the pituitary expressed in a relative redistribution of gonadotropin fractions were significantly more pronounced than in normal age-matched subjects. The patients of both sexes exhibited a considerable elevation of blood prolactin levels. Hyperprolactinemia may either follow stroke since the latter impairs the hypothalamic regulation of prolactin secretion or precede it contributing to the development of a metabolic background conducive to the development of cerebral atherosclerosis.