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Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Institute for Neuroscience, and Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology (A.C.G.), The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712; and Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (B.M.W.-E., E.T.) and Department of Pediatrics (E.T.), University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53715
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Andrea C. Gore, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, Division of Pharmacology/Toxicology, Austin, Texas 78712. E-mail: andrea.gore{at}mail.utexas.edu.
Reproductive function in all vertebrates is controlled by the circhoral release of the neuropeptide, GnRH, into the portal capillary system leading to the anterior pituitary. Despite its primary role in sexual maturation and the maintenance of adult reproductive function, changes in the concentrations and pattern of GnRH release have not yet been reported in any primate species during the menopausal transition and postmenopause. Such knowledge is essential for ascertaining both the mechanisms for, and consequences of, the menopausal process. Here we used a push-pull perfusion method to measure and compare the parameters of pulsatile GnRH release in adult rhesus monkeys at 8.4 ± 1.5 yr (young adult females, early follicular phase, n = 6) and 28.8 ± 0.3 yr (aged females, n = 4, of which two monkeys were in the menopausal transition, and two were postmenopausal). Our results demonstrate that: 1) GnRH release is pulsatile in both young and aged monkeys; 2) mean concentrations of GnRH increase during reproductive aging; and 3) GnRH pulse frequency does not differ between aged monkeys and young monkeys in the early follicular phase. We conclude that not only do GnRH neurons have the continued capacity to release GnRH in a pulsatile manner but also they can do so with enhanced GnRH levels in aged primates. To our knowledge, this is the first direct demonstration of elevated pulsatile GnRH concentrations in a primate species during reproductive senescence, a result that may have implications for menopausal symptoms.
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  A. C Wilson, M S. Salamat, R. J Haasl, K. M Roche, A. Karande, S. V. Meethal, E. Terasawa, R. L Bowen, and C. S Atwood Human neurons express type I GnRH receptor and respond to GnRH I by increasing luteinizing hormone expression J. Endocrinol., December 1, 2006; 191(3): 651 - 663. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 J. H. Morrison, R. D. Brinton, P. J. Schmidt, and A. C. Gore Estrogen, Menopause, and the Aging Brain: How Basic Neuroscience Can Inform Hormone Therapy in Women J. Neurosci., October 11, 2006; 26(41): 10332 - 10348. [Full Text] [PDF]
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 T. R. Chakraborty and A. C. Gore Aging-Related Changes in Ovarian Hormones, Their Receptors, and Neuroendocrine Function Experimental Biology and Medicine, November 1, 2004; 229(10): 977 - 987. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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