The effect of thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation on serum levels of gonadotropins in women during the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle

J. M. Colon, J. B. Lessing, C. Yavetz, M. R. Peyser, M. Ganguly, G. Weiss

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Abstract

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) can stimulate the secretion of adenohyophyseal thyroid-stimulating hormone and prolactin (PRL). The effect of TRH on gonadotropin secretion has not been well defined. This study investigated the effect of TRH administration on the peripheral levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) during the early follicular and midluteal phases of the menstrual cycle in five ovulatory, euthyroid, and normoprolactinemic women. Two hundred μg of TRH were administered intravenously on days 3 to 5 and on days 21 to 23 of the same cycle. LH and FSH were measured prior to and every 30 minutes for 2 hours following TRH injection. Ovulation was confirmed in all cycles by midluteal progesterone. All women had normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and PRL responses to TRH stimulation in both cycle phases. Baseline and stimulated gonadotropin levels were analyzed by analysis of variance. Thirty minutes following TRH infusion, follicular and luteal levels of LH (mIU/ml, mean ± standard error of the mean) significantly increased from 6.0 ± 0.8 to 8.0 ± 1.1 (P < 0.005), and from 4.8 ± 0.6 to 7.6 ± 0.7 (P < 0.005), respectively. Levels of FSH increased during both phases of the cycle, but the elevation was not statistically significant. These results suggest that TRH can stimulate gonadotrope secretion of LH, but not FSH, in both the follicular and luteal phases of the cycle.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)809-812
Number of pages4
JournalFertility and Sterility
Volume49
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1988
Externally publishedYes

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