McPherson J C, Costoff A, Mahesh V B
Fertil Steril. 1977 Dec;28(12):1365-70. doi: 10.1016/s0015-0282(16)42986-9.
The failure of reproductive function in aged rats could be due to deficiencies at the level of the ovary, pituitary, hypothalamus, or higher brain centers. The classic explanation that the ovary is depleted of follicles does not receive adequate support on the basis of histologic studies of aged ovaries. Basal serum gonadotropin levels change with increasing age in female rats. Serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels rise while serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels fall. Likewise, the characteristic response to castration is markedly altered in aged female rats with a reduced secretion of FSH and a minimal elevation of LH. However, the pituitaires of these animals are still caapable of responding to exogenous LH-releasing hormone with a delayed LH response whose magnitude simulates that seen in younger female animals. With increasing age there is decreased pituitary and/or hypothalamic sensitivity to the feedback action of estradiol. These data are consistent with the postulation that there is an altered hypothalamic-hypophyseal function in aged rats.
老龄大鼠生殖功能的衰退可能是由于卵巢、垂体、下丘脑或更高脑中枢水平的缺陷所致。经典的解释是卵巢中的卵泡耗竭，但基于对老龄卵巢的组织学研究，这一解释并未得到充分支持。雌性大鼠的基础血清促性腺激素水平会随着年龄增长而变化。血清卵泡刺激素（FSH）水平升高，而血清黄体生成素（LH）水平下降。同样，老龄雌性大鼠对去势的特征性反应也明显改变，FSH分泌减少，LH仅有轻微升高。然而，这些动物的垂体仍能够对外源性促黄体激素释放激素产生反应，LH反应延迟，其幅度与年轻雌性动物相似。随着年龄的增长，垂体和/或下丘脑对雌二醇反馈作用的敏感性降低。这些数据与老龄大鼠下丘脑 - 垂体功能改变的假设一致。
