Fatness, Puberty, and Ovulation

Puberty is a late and possibly final stage in mammalian maturation, and the biologic mechanisms by which reproductive competence is acquired are still unclear. In a recent study, regular ovulatory cycles were achieved in infantile rhesus monkeys by means of pulsed administration of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH).1 This experimental induction of puberty, which regressed upon cessation of the LHRH administration, provides evidence that neither ovarian nor pituitary maturation is involved in the initiation of puberty in primates, and that only the development of a hypothalamic process for the episodic secretion of LHRH is required for the full function of the . . .