[Secretion of gonadotropins during sleep. Changes during secondary amenorrheas]

4 females with secondary amenorrheas underwent sleep polygraphic recordings together with blood samples for measurements of LH, FSH and GH, 3 normal females served as controls. Among normal subjects LH and FSH secretion showed a pulsating pattern around the time of ovulation, appearing as secretory episodes throughout the night, without any relationship with sleep stages. In amenorrheas, 3 types of abnormalities could be identified: the first was a lack of secretory episodes of LH and FSH associated with an abnormal pattern of GH (9 subjects). The second was an hypersecretion of LH and a decrease of FSH secretion together with a normal secretion of GH in 4 subjects with a Stein-Leventhal syndrome. The last one was an hypersecretion of LH and FSH together with a normal pattern of GH in a subject with an early menopause. These results are discussed according to the present data on the part of neurotransmission in the regulation of ovulation and the 2 types of sleep. Furthermore secretory abnormalities of LH and FSH together with a disconnection between GH secretion and the stages of sleep lead to question the possibility of interrelationships in the secretory mechanisms of these different hormones.