[An unusual case of regular menstrual cycles and endocrine pattern typical for the reproductive age in a patient of advanced age]. / Su un interessante caso di flussi mestruali regolari e pattern endocrino tipico dell'età riproduttiva in una paziente in età avanzata.

The Authors report the persistence of regular menses in a very old woman. Although in the absence of a pulsatile gonadotropin pattern the patient showed estradiol levels typical of the reproductive age.

Integrated neuropsychopathological approach in patients affected by amenorrhea.

A compared study of neurovegetative modifications (following stress stimula) and of psychopathological aspects in patients affected by amenorrhea was carried out. Such an integrated approach is useful for a better definition of clinical characteristic and for a selection of a suitable therapeutic approach.

Lymphocytes subset in hyperandrogenic women with polycystic ovarian disease.

The correlation between the sex steroids and the immune system is already known but the relationships between testosterone, progesterone, estradiol, cortisol and the immune system are still controversial. The Authors have studied lymphocytes subset in ten women with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD); it was observed: 1) a decrease of T8 in 64% and of natural killer activity (NK) in 60% of patients, and an increase of T4/T8 ratio in 55%; 2) a significant negative correlation between androstenedione and testosterone (P less than 0.05); 3) a significant positive correlation between the decreased T8 lymphocytes and NK cells and the increase of testosterone and androstenedione serum values. The data suggest that in PCOD a correlation between endocrine and immune system exists and the androgens can affect the lymphocyte subset.

Significance of free testosterone assay in comparison with traditional R.I.A. androgens in diagnosis of androgens excess.

In 35 women, 16-32 years old (average age 24) affected by hirsutism associated to menstrual disorders as oligomenorrhea or secondary amenorrhea, the real utility of testosterone's free fraction assay (FT) in comparison with conventional hormonal assays has been valued. The free testosterone (FT) resulted the most frequently elevated hormone (69%). The analysis of the different groups shows a good sensitivity and specificity of FT assay in some conditions as PCOD, but it is not so sensitive and specific in other conditions as secondary amenorrhea. We conclude that FT assay is particularly useful for the hyperandrogenism study, especially in the PCOD; for its high diagnostic sensitivity it would be assayed in all the women with hirsutism, but it isn't sufficient for the screening of the different hyperandrogenic states.

Pineal gland hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis relationships.

The authors refer the results of their study in 15 healthy women in whom 24-hours serum melatonin (MT) and cortisol (F) were assayed by RIA method. Both hormones showed a clear circadian rhythm: Melatonin reached the highest values between 24.00 and 04.00 while cortisol were at the lowest values. The relationships between Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF) and pineal function are analysed. A strict correlation between the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and melatonin is suggested.