[A study of apocrine resembled metaplasia of endometrium in the patient with functional uterine bleeding and their hormone levels (author's transl)].

Relationship between endometrial findings and serum hormone concentrations in patients with functional uterine bleeding (FUB) was not clarified yet. One hundred patients affected by FUB were divided into four groups according to their endometrial patterns: 1) proliferative phase(P), 2) secretary phase(S), 3) atrophic secretary phase(A-S) and 4) cystic glandular hyperplasia(C). Serum hormone levels which included LH, FSH, prolactine(PRL), estradiol and progesterone were measured by radioimmunoassay. 79% of the patients we studied were between 21 to 45 years and 21% were under 20 years or over 46 years of age. None of the patients received hormone therapy prior to the study. P(45%) and S(30%) were frequently encountered in histological manifestation of FUB while C was found no more than 4%. In 21% of the patients revealed apocrine resembled metaplasia of endometrium(AP), the cells resembled to the epithelium of apocrine sweat glands. This metaplasia was found in every endometrial patterns, but was seen in A-S most frequently. Serum concentrations of hormones in patients classified as C were characteristically and inclined to be hypergonadotropic and hypoestrogenic. High PRL levels were found in group S. All hormone levels except for FSH were statistically lower in the group of AP than that in groups where no AP was found.