Relevance of urinary gonadotrophins

The assay of urinary LH and FSH in first morning void urine can be used for the differential diagnosis between anorchism and bilateral cryptorchidism with impalpable testes. Furthermore, levels of urinary LH and FSH excretion and their response to intranasal stimulation with LH-RH prove helpful in the follow-up of patients under hormonal treatment, i.e. prolonged stimulation in hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism or suppression by an LH-RH analogue, for instance in precocious puberty. By increasing the sensitivity of the assay, the value of urinary gonadotrophins for the differential diagnosis and survey of hormonal treatment in very young children can be examined, and investigations of this kind are currently taking place. The method used obviously cannot assess the bioactivity of the excreted hormone, nor can it depict the pulsatility of gonadotrophin secretion.