Impairment of libido and sexual potency are commonly reported by male epileptic patients. This may be partly a consequence of medication. Circulating hormones were measured in 53 postpubertal male epileptic patients less than 45 years of age and in an age-matched control group (n = 40), consisting of 14 untreated epileptic patients and 26 unmedicated healthy subjects. A subgroup also underwent a combined gonadotrophin- and thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (LH-RH/TRH) pituitary stimulation test. Untreated patients did not differ from healthy subjects for any parameter, and their data were combined for comparison with the treated epileptic patients. Total testosterone (T), androstenedione, and basal follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations were similar in all patient groups. Patients receiving more than one drug had higher sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) (p less than 0.01) and lower free T and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHAS) levels (both p less than 0.001) than controls. Carbamazepine (CBZ) monotherapy also reduced free T (p less than 0.05) and DHAS (p less than 0.001) and increased basal prolactin (p less than 0.01). In these two groups of patients, basal luteinising hormone (LH) was elevated (p less than 0.01), presumably as a pituitary response to increased T catabolism. There was a negative correlation between free T and circulating CBZ (r = -0.54, p less than 0.05) in the monotherapy patients. Phenytoin (PHT) was associated with a rise in SHBG (p less than 0.01) and a fall in DHAS (p less than 0.001). Basal LH was also elevated, but this just failed to reach statistical significance (p less than 0.1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)