Dose-Response Effects of Exogenous Pulsatile Human Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone on Adrenocorticotropin, Cortisol, and Gonadotropin Concentrations in Agonadal Women*

ABSTRACT Acute activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis with CRH has been reported to suppress gonadotropin secretion in women of reproductive age. In this study we specifically examined the effects of increasing doses of human CRH (hCRH) on circulating concentrations of ACTH, cortisol, and gonadotropins in five agonadal women, aged 46–65 (mean, 51.2) yr. The subjects had undergone either natural menopause or surgical removal of their ovaries at least 1 yr before study. Each woman was studied on four separate occasions and received either saline or hCRH at a dose of 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 μ/kg BW through an indwelling iv catheter in a randomized, single blind fashion. During each experiment, five sequential iv injections of the same dose of hCRH or saline were administered at 90-min intervals over an 8-h period, followed by a 10-μg iv bolus of GnRH to test for pituitary gonadotropin responsiveness. Blood samples for measurement of LH, FSH, PRL, ACTH, and cortisol were obtained at 15-min intervals through a...