Abstract
-In order to elucidate possible mechanism(s) responsible for the age-related decline in LH secretion basal and norepinephrine (NE)-stimulated LHRH release was measured from median eminence (ME) fragments of 4-,11-,18- and 27-month-old male F344 rats. Serum LH levels declined significantly between 11 and 18 months and were still lower at 27 months of age, while testosterone levels declined continuously between 4 and 27 months. Hypothalamic NE and dopamine (DA) content also declined significantly with age, while serotonin and 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid content increased with age. Despite the decline in serum LH levels with age, in vitro basal LHRH r release increased gradually with age as did NE-stimulated LHRH release. These data suggest that the age-related reduction in LH secretion by the male rat is due to a reduction in hypothalamic NE metabolism and not to an inability of the LHRH neuron to respond to NE stimulation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 113-116 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Neurobiology of Aging |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1985 |
Keywords
- Dopamine
- Hypothalamus
- LH
- LHRH
- Norepinephrine
- Serotonin
- Testosterone
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)
- Aging
- Clinical Neurology
- Developmental Biology
- Geriatrics and Gerontology