Objective: To evaluate the significance of an LH variant with a mutant beta-subunit (Trp8 to Arg8 and Ile15 to Thr15) in gynecologic disease, including infertility.
Design: Clinical study.
Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shimane Medical University Hospital, Izumo, Japan.
Patient(s): Two hundred forty-five Japanese women with endocrine disorders and/or gynecologic disease and 153 healthy, nonpregnant, fertile Japanese women.
Intervention(s): A blood sample was collected.
Main outcome measure(s): The ratio of LH values from the SPAC-S and Immulyze assays (LH ratio: SPAC-S LH/Immulyze LH) was used to determine variant (< or =0.5) or wild-type (>0.5) LH status according to a demonstrated relation between the ratio and the sequence of the LH beta-subunit gene.
Result(s): The LH ratio was lower (0.80+/-0.31) in the 245 patients than in the controls (1.00+/-0.38), and the variant was more frequent in the patients (18.4%) than in the controls (8.5%). We found no difference in the frequency of the variant between infertile and fertile patients. The prevalence of infertility did not differ between patients with variant LH and patients with normal LH. Ovulatory disorders, hyperprolactinemia, premature ovarian failure, menstrual disorders, and luteal insufficiency were significantly more frequent in patients with the variant.
Conclusion(s): Variant LH may contribute to female reproductive disorders, including infertility and premature ovarian failure.