Pituitary hormonal reserve in patients presenting hyperprolactinemia, intrasellar masses, and amenorrhea without galactorrhea.

The pituitary release of gonadotropins, prolactin, and TSH after the simultaneous intravenous administration of 50 mug LH-RH was 400 mug TRH was evaluated in 7 amenorrheic women with sellar enlargement and hyperprolactinemia. It was found that only minimal amounts of LH and FSH were released by LH-RH. All patients had elevated serum prolactin levels but TRH administration elicited negligible release of prolactin. This was in contrast to the normal TSH response to TRH in most of these women. It is concluded that intrasellar masses may be associated with hyperprolactinemia which does not necessarily cause galactorrhea and that impaired gonadotropin reserve correlates with the presence of amenorrhea.