[Anterior pituitary regulation of testicular function in the elderly (author's transl)]

Pituitary gonadotrophin regulation was examined with the LH-RH test in 15 men (aged between 55 and 90 years), five of them aged between 71 and 90 years. Compared to normal mature males, the plasma testosterone in these subjects was reduced or was in the lower range of normal, while basal LH levels were increased in half the cases. However, basal FSH values were increased in three only. In most of these subjects with increased basal values of LH, the LH-RH stimulation caused a paradoxical temporary reduction in LH release which did not occur with FSH. This paradoxical response also did not occur when basal LH values were normal.