Genazzani A D, Petraglia F, Sgarbi L, Montanini V, Hartmann B, Surico N, Biolcati A, Volpe A, Genazzani A R
University of Modena, Italy.
Maturitas. 1997 Mar;26(2):133-8. doi: 10.1016/s0378-5122(96)01088-2.
Several neuroendocrine changes occur at menopause and the present study aimed to verify whether the episodic release and the degree of concordance of LH and FSH differs between early and late postmenopausal women.
Postmenopausal (n = 32) women were enrolled and subdivided in two groups according to the menopausal age: group A (n = 22), patients with more than 2 but less than 5 years from the occurrence of menopause; group B (n = 10), patients with more than 15 years from the occurrence of menopause. All subjects underwent a pulsatility study (4 h, sampling every 10 min) to assess LH and FSH secretory characteristics and their degree of concordance.
Mean +/- S.E.M. LH and FSH plasma levels were lower in older women than in postmenopausal women (P < 0.01). The secretory pattern was pulsatile for both LH and FSH and their pulse amplitudes were lower in aged women (P < 0.01). No significant difference was observed in terms of pulse frequency between the two groups. LH and FSH pulses were co-secreted in early postmenopausal women while such a concordance was lost in older women.
Late postmenopause is characterized by the reduction of the amplitude of gonadotropin pulses in comparison to women in early postmenopause, reflecting changes of both GnRH secretion and/or pituitary responsiveness to GnRH. The age-related loss of concordance between LH and FSH pulses discloses the existence of a hidden FSH stimulating system, which drives FSH episodic release independently and more promptly than GnRH.
绝经时会发生多种神经内分泌变化，本研究旨在验证绝经后早期和晚期女性促黄体生成素（LH）和促卵泡生成素（FSH）的脉冲式释放及一致程度是否存在差异。
招募绝经后女性（n = 32），并根据绝经年龄将其分为两组：A组（n = 22），绝经2年以上但不足5年的患者；B组（n = 10），绝经15年以上的患者。所有受试者均进行了脉冲性研究（4小时，每10分钟采样一次），以评估LH和FSH的分泌特征及其一致程度。
老年女性的LH和FSH血浆平均水平±标准误低于绝经后早期女性（P < 0.01）。LH和FSH的分泌模式均为脉冲式，老年女性的脉冲幅度较低（P < 0.01）。两组之间在脉冲频率方面未观察到显著差异。绝经后早期女性中LH和FSH脉冲共同分泌，而老年女性则失去了这种一致性。
与绝经后早期女性相比，绝经后期的特征是促性腺激素脉冲幅度降低，这反映了促性腺激素释放激素（GnRH）分泌和/或垂体对GnRH反应性的变化。LH和FSH脉冲之间与年龄相关的一致性丧失揭示了一个隐藏的FSH刺激系统的存在，该系统独立驱动FSH的脉冲式释放，且比GnRH更迅速。
