Luteinizing hormone in the blood.

Luteinizing hormone is a peptide hormone of the anterior pituitary gland. The targets of luteinizing hormone in women include ovarian cells and the corpus luteum. Luteinizing hormone stimulates ovulation and activates the synthesis of estrogens and progesterone in ovarian cells. It activates the synthesis of testosterone in the Leydig cells of the testes in men.

Reference values (norm) of luteinizing hormone concentration in blood serum

Age	LH, IU/L
Children under 11 years old	0.03-3.9
Women:
Follicular phase	1.68-15
Ovulation phase	21.9-56.6
Luteal phase	0.61-16.3
Menopause period	14.2-52.3
Men	1.24-7.8

During the menstrual cycle, luteinizing hormone levels remain low, except for a mid-cycle surge. The mid-cycle luteinizing hormone peak is preceded by a preovulatory estradiol peak approximately 12 hours before it occurs, while ovulation itself occurs approximately 12–20 hours after the peak luteinizing hormone concentration is reached.

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Causes of increase and decrease of luteinizing hormone

Diseases and conditions in which the concentration of luteinizing hormone in the blood serum changes

Increased concentration

• Pituitary dysfunction
• Primary gonadal hypofunction
• Amenorrhea
• Stein-Leventhal syndrome
• Use of clomiphene, spironolactone

Decreased concentration

• Dysfunction of the pituitary gland or hypothalamus ( hypopituitarism )
• Gonadal atrophy in men after inflammation of the testicles due to mumps, gonorrhea, brucellosis
• Galactorrhea-amenorrhea syndrome
• Kallmann syndrome
• Neurotic anorexia
• Delayed growth and puberty
• Use of digoxin, megestrol, phenothiazines, progesterone, estrogens