Androgens and prolactin levels in hirsute women with either polycystic ovaries or “borderline ovaries”

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that elevated serum prolactin (PRL) levels might explain the adrenal hyperandrogenism which is often associated with the ovarian hyperandrogenism in hirsute women. Accordingly, serum levels of estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), androstenedione (∆4A), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and its sulfate (DHEAS), as well as serum PRL, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and their responses to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and LH-releasing hormone (LH-RH) were assayed in 23 hirsute women, 16 with polycystic ovaries (PCO group) and 7 with “borderline ovaries” (BO group: ovaries with a normal appearance at laparoscopy but with histologic abnormalities similar to those of polycystic ovaries). The results were compared with those of 11 normal control subjects. Slightly elevated PRL levels (18 to 32 ng/ml) were found in ten hirsute women. Mean basal concentrations of PRL and LH, mean LH response, and mean concentrations of all the steroids except E2were significantly elevated in the PCO group. Most of these elevated hormone levels were present but less pronounced in the BO group. PRL response to TRH was normal in the hirsute women. We found no significant relationship between PRL and steroid hormone values. On the other hand, mean DHEAS, DHEA, and ∆4A concentrations were higher in the group of the ten hirsute women with slightly elevated PRL concentrations than in the group with normal concentrations, but the difference was not significant. Thus, serum PRL is often slightly elevated in hirsute women with ovarian hyperandrogenism, although our data do not clearly support the hypothesis that these elevated concentrations induce the associated adrenal hyperandrogenism.