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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
1989-3-31
pubmed:abstractText
We studied the inhibitory effect of exogenous CRH on pulsatile gonadotropin secretion and the role of endogenous opioid peptides in this phenomenon in normal women. To do so, we infused human CRH (100 micrograms/h for 3 h) into 15 normal women during the midluteal phase of their menstrual cycle and studied its effect on both basal (10 women) and GnRH-stimulated (5 women) plasma gonadotropin levels. CRH infusion induced a significant decrease in plasma LH and FSH levels in all women. The decline in plasma LH (62%) was greater than that in FSH (36%). Plasma LH and FSH concentrations returned to basal levels within 30 min after the end of the CRH infusion. CRH infusion did not alter the gonadotropin response to GnRH. We also infused naloxone plus CRH in the 10 women who had received CRH alone during the midluteal phase of a different cycle. Addition of naloxone to CRH (5 women) reversed the LH and FSH inhibition when naloxone was started 1 h after the start of the CRH infusion. When naloxone was started 1 h before CRH infusion (5 women), plasma LH and FSH concentrations did not change. Plasma cortisol increased similarly during both the CRH and CRH plus naloxone infusions; the mean cortisol levels at the end of the CRH and CRH plus naloxone infusions were 497 +/- 40 (+/- SE) and 484 +/- 41 nmol/L, respectively, compared to 240 +/- 14 nmol/L after saline infusion (P less than 0.001). These results demonstrate that in normal women during the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle, CRH inhibits the secretion of both LH and FSH. The CRH-induced inhibition of gonadotropin secretion is primarily mediated by endogenous opioid peptides, and this effect is not dependent on glucocorticoid levels. We suggest that the disruptive effect of stress on reproductive function in the women could be, at least in part, dependent on decreased gonadotropin secretion induced by elevated endogenous CRH levels.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0021-972X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
68
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
523-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1989
pubmed:articleTitle
Corticotropin-releasing hormone inhibition of gonadotropin release and the effect of opioid blockade.
pubmed:affiliation
Institute of Endocrinology, Catholic University School of Medicine, Rome, Italy.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article