Prolactin and gonadotrophin changes following generalised and partial seizures

Abstract

Postictal values of prolactin, LH and FSH have been recorded in patients with both generalised tonic-clonic and partial seizures. Elevations of prolactin and LH were seen immediately and at 20 minutes in males and females with generalised attacks. At sixty minutes values for prolactin had fallen to baseline levels, but LH remained elevated. FSH values were increased in females only, at twenty and sixty minutes. Following partial seizures prolactin was elevated, especially with complex partial seizures, at twenty minutes. These results are discussed in the light of known electrophysiological mechanisms relating to partial seizures, and clinical guidelines for the use of neurohormonal tests in the evaluation of seizures are suggested.