Effects of dopamine blockade on gonadotropins and testosterone in men

The authors found that plasma luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin, and testosterone were initially normal in nine acutely psychotic males with schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorder; follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) was normal in eight of the nine. When patients were treated with pimozide, a relatively specific dopamine receptor blocker, there were statistically significant declines in FSH and LH, although levels remained within normal limits. Prolactin rose significantly, but testosterone did not change. The observed reductions in FSH and LH concentrations are consistent with the hypotheses that dopamine and/or prolactin play a role in gonadotropin secretion. The maintenance of normal levels of gonadotropins and testosterone, however, suggests that these patients possessed relatively normal hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis function before and during a course of neuroleptic treatment.