Effects of advancing age on hypothalamic neurotransmitter content and on basal and norepinephrine-stimulated LHRH release

Richard W. Steger, Louis V. de Paolo, Alexander M. Shepherd

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

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 languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)113-116
Number of pages4
JournalNeurobiology of Aging
Volume6
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1985

Keywords

  • Dopamine
  • Hypothalamus
  • LH
  • LHRH
  • Norepinephrine
  • Serotonin
  • Testosterone

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuroscience(all)
  • Aging
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

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