[The Stein-Leventhal syndrome with obesity]

The authors carried out studies on 28 women with the syndrome of Stein-Leventhal with obesity. It was established that patients with hypothalamic genuine obesity of III degree predominated. The number of patients with liver steatosis was the largest among accompanying metabolic disturbances, followed by those with arterial hypertension and asymptomatic hyperuricemia. Menarche occurred on time, but it was succeeded by various menstrual disturbances. There was increased level of testosterone in sera of 12 out of 20 examined women patients, of LH-in 17, of 17-ketosteroids-in 8, of estrogens-in 6, of prolactin-in 8 patients. These data in parallelism between menstrual disturbances and hirsutism were interpreted by the authors as an expression of primary disturbances in hypothalamic-hypophysial-gonadal interrelationships with secondary changes in the ovaries. The role of fatty tissue in the metabolism of steroid hormones is discussed as well as the possibility for participation of genetic factors in the development of the syndrome of Stein-Leventhal and obesity.