This brief note addresses the historical background of the invention of the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). These assays were developed independently and simultaneously by the research group of Peter Perlmann and Eva Engvall at Stockholm University in Sweden and by the research group of Anton Schuurs and Bauke van Weemen in The Netherlands. Today, fully automated instruments in medical laboratories around the world use the immunoassay principle with an enzyme as the reporter label for routine measurements of innumerable analytes in patient samples. The impact of EIA/ELISA is reflected in the overwhelmingly large number of times it has appeared as a keyword in the literature since the 1970s. Clinicians and their patients, medical laboratories, in vitro diagnostics manufacturers, and worldwide healthcare systems owe much to these four inventors.

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SUMMARY Three patients with galactorrhoea and menstrual disturbances, due to hyperprolactinaemia and of more than 2 years duration, are described. Administration of 2‐Brom‐α‐ergocryptine effectively lowered the plasma prolactin concentrations in all three patients and restored the normal cyclic ovarian activity. One pregnancy was noticed during therapy. The role of prolactin on ovarian function is discussed. 2‐Brom‐α‐ergocryptine seems to be an effective drug in the long‐term treatment of galactorrhoea associated with menstrual disturbances.

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The functioning of the hypothalamo-pituitary-target organs axis was assessed in 3 patients with 'fertile eunuch' syndrome (FE) and 6 patients with 'classic' hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (HH) with or without hyposmia. Both groups of patients did not differ from each other with regard to basal serum prolactin levels, pituitary growth hormone and thyrotrophin reserve and the thyroid or adrenal gland function. Both groups differed, however, with respect to the hypothalamo-pituitary\x=req-\ gonadal function: 1. the pituitary LH response to exogenous LH-RH was (low)-normal in FE and blunted in HH; 2. the basal FSH levels were normal in FE and undetectable in HH; 3. the basal LH levels were normal in FE and 3/6 patients with HH and low in the remaining three; 4. the basal and HCG stimulated plasma testosterone concentrations were significantly higher in FE than HH. The data suggest that FE represents a less severe form of LH-RH deficiency, rather than a distinct disorder.Pasqualini 8c Bur (1950) described a patient with eunuchoidism and normal sized testes, preserved spermatogenesis with virtual absence of mature Leydig cells and clinically and biochemically a normal androgenic response to HCG administraton. Hitherto about 50 patients have been reported in literature. This syndrome for which the term 'fertile eunuch' syndrome was coined by McCullagh 8c Beck (1952) and McCullagh et al. (1953) has been thought to