Developmental changes in neuroendocrine regulation of gonadotropin secretion in gonadal dysgenesis

Judith Levine Ross, D. Lynn Loriaux, Gordon B. Cutler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Patients with gonadal dysgenesis have a marked increase in gonadotropin levels at the age when puberty normally occurs. To determine whether this increase results from a change in the frequency or the amplitude of gonadotropin pulses, we measured the 24-h profile of plasma LH and FSH by RIA in 31 patients with gonadal dysgenesis, aged 2–20 yr. Gonadotropin pulses were defined as a rise from nadir to peak that exceeded 3 times the intraassay coefficient of variation. This criterion, based on an empirical study of RIA noise, reduced the rate of false positive peaks to less than 3–4/24 h. Using this criterion, peak amplitude increased significantly at the time of puberty for both LH and FSH (P < 0.01). The overall frequency of gonadotropin pulses (the sum of the FSH peaks plus the LH peaks that occurred without a concomitant FSH peak), however, did not differ among prepubertal (12.7 ± 1.8 peaks/24 h), pubertal aged (14.3 ± 2.3 peaks/24 h), and adult patients (14.7 ± 0.9 peaks/24 h). Thus, the increase in gonadotropin concentration in pubertal aged patients with gonadal dysgenesis appears to result primarily from an increase in gonadotropin peak amplitude rather than an increase in peak frequency.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)288-293
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
Volume57
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1983
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
  • Biochemistry
  • Endocrinology
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Biochemistry, medical

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