Abstract
Twenty six women showing acute psychogenic or environmental amenorrhea and twenty eight psychiatric female patients with amenorrhea were investigated with regard to serum LH bioassay and various urinary hormone assays. In the majority of those with acute environmental or psychogenic amenorrhea, a peculiar endocrinological pattern with low total gonadotrophin, low serum LH, high 170HCS and high 17KS was confirmed. In amenorrhea accompanied by endogenous psychosis, such as schizophrenia, the same endocrinological pattern was dominant. These results strongly suggest that the mechanism of the amenorrhea due to acute environmental change or psychiatric disorders is consistent with the shift theory of pituitary function proposed by Selye.
