Urinary Gonadotrophins

Abstract

At the start of this project it was thought worthwhile to undertake simple relevant hormonal estimations, and the levels of luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in 24-hour collections of urine were chosen. In view of the importance attached to maintaining the participation of the subjects in the project over several years, any procedures likely to discourage them, such as blood tests, were avoided. However, as indicated in Chapter 1, the 24-hour urine collections proved a considerable deterrent to the boys and girls, and were also extremely difficult in practice. Rather than lose subjects this aspect of the study was stopped after the initial 5 years, when fortunately a high proportion of those who had participated were well advanced in puberty and many were past the age of PHV.