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Use these quick guides before reading the article, or return to them when you need help preparing questions for a doctor.
ICSH – blood test; Luteinizing hormone – blood test; Interstitial cell-stimulating hormone – blood test
The LH blood test measures the amount of luteinizing hormone (LH) in blood. LH is a hormone released by the pituitary gland, located on the underside of the brain.
How the Test is Performed
A blood sample is needed.
How to Prepare for the Test
Your health care provider will ask you to temporarily stop medicines that may affect the test results. Be sure to tell your provider about all the medicines you take. These include:
- Birth control pills
- Hormone therapy
- Testosterone
- DHEA (a supplement)
If you are a woman of childbearing age, the test may need to be done on a specific day of your menstrual cycle. Tell your provider if you have recently been exposed to radioisotopes, such as during a nuclear medicine test.
How the Test will Feel
When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel moderate pain. Others feel only a prick or stinging. Afterward, there may be some throbbing or a slight bruise. This soon goes away.
Why the Test is Performed
In women, an increase in LH level at mid-cycle causes the release of eggs (ovulation). Your doctor will order this test to see if:
- You are ovulating when you are having trouble getting pregnant or have periods that are not regular
- You have reached menopause
If you are a man, the test may be ordered if you have signs of infertility or lowered sex drive. The test may be ordered if you have signs of a pituitary gland problem.
Normal Results
Normal results for adult women are:
- Before menopause: 5 to 25 IU/L
- Level peaks even higher around the middle of the menstrual cycle
- The level then becomes higher in women after menopause: 14.2 to 52.3 IU/L
LH levels are normally low during childhood.
The normal result for men over 18 years of age is around 1.8 to 8.6 IU/L.
Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Some labs use different measurements or test different samples. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test result.
What Abnormal Results Mean
In women, a higher than normal level of LH is seen:
- When women of childbearing age are not ovulating
- When there is an imbalance of female sex hormones (such as with polycystic ovary syndrome )
- During or after menopause
- Turner syndrome
- When the ovaries produce little or no hormones (ovarian hypofunction)
In men, a higher than normal level of LH may be due to:
- Absence of testes or testes that do not function ( anorchia )
- Problem with genes, such as Klinefelter syndrome
- Endocrine glands that are overactive or form a tumor ( multiple endocrine neoplasia )
In children, a higher than normal level is seen in early (precocious) puberty.
A lower than normal level of LH may be due to the pituitary gland not making enough hormones (hypopituitarism).
Risks
Veins and arteries vary in size from one person to another and from one side of the body to the other. Obtaining a blood sample from some people may be more difficult than from others.
Other risks associated with having blood drawn are slight, but may include:
- Excessive bleeding
- Fainting or feeling lightheaded
- Hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
- Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)
Immunoelectrophoresis – urine
Immunoglobulin electrophoresis – urine; Gamma globulin electrophoresis – urine; Urine immunoglobulin electrophoresis; IEP – urine
Urine immunoelectrophoresis is a lab test that measures immunoglobulins in a urine sample.
Immunoglobulins are proteins that function as antibodies, which fight infection. There are various types of these proteins. Some can be abnormal and may be due to cancer.
Immunoglobulins can also be measured in the blood.
How the Test is Performed
A clean-catch urine sample is needed. The clean-catch method is used to prevent germs from the penis or vagina from getting into a urine sample. To collect your urine, the health care provider may give you a special clean-catch kit that contains a cleansing solution and sterile wipes. Follow instructions exactly.
After you provide a urine sample, it is sent to the laboratory. There, the laboratory specialist will place the urine sample on special paper and apply an electric current. The various proteins move and form visible bands, which reveal the general amounts of each protein.
How to Prepare for the Test
Your provider may ask you to collect the first-morning urine, which is the most concentrated.
If you are taking the collection from an infant, you may need extra collection bags.
How the Test will Feel
The test involves only normal urination, and there is no discomfort.
Why the Test is Performed
This test is used to measure the amounts of various immunoglobulins in urine. Most often, it is done after a large amount of protein is found in the urine.
Normal Results
Normally there is no protein, or only a small amount of protein in the urine. When there is protein in the urine, it normally consists of mainly albumin.
Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results.
What Abnormal Results Mean
Immunoglobulin in the urine can result from:
- An abnormal buildup of proteins in tissues and organs ( amyloidosis )
- Leukemia
- Blood cancer called multiple myeloma
- Kidney disorders such as IgA nephropathy or IgM nephropathy
- White blood cell cancer called Waldenström macroglobulinemia
Some people have monoclonal immunoglobulins, but do not have cancer. This is called monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance, or MGUS.
