Estrogen
- Thread starter arauca
- Start date
Number 9 Bus Shelter
Registered Member
I thought hypothalamus produces estrogen
Add to your information . That was my intent to start this oP.
The new research shows that the hypothalamus can directly control reproductive function in rhesus monkeys and very likely performs the same action in women.
Scientists have known for about 80 years that the hypothalamus, a region in the brain, is involved in regulating the menstrual cycle and reproduction. Within the past 40 years, they predicted the presence of neural estrogens, but they did not know whether the brain could actually make and release estrogen.
Most estrogens, such as estradiol, a primary hormone that controls the menstrual cycle, are produced in the ovaries. Estradiol circulates throughout the body, including the brain and pituitary gland, and influences reproduction, body weight, and learning and memory. As a result, many normal functions are compromised when the ovaries are removed or lose their function after menopause.
"Discovering that the hypothalamus can rapidly produce large amounts of estradiol and participate in control of gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons surprised us," says Ei Terasawa, professor of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and senior scientist at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. "These findings not only shift the concept of how reproductive function and behavior is regulated but have real implications for understanding and treating a number of diseases and disorders."
For diseases that may be linked to estrogen imbalances, such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, depression, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and other autoimmune disorders, the hypothalamus may become a novel area for drug targeting, Terasawa says. "Results such as these can point us in new research directions and find new diagnostic tools and treatments for neuroendocrine diseases."
The study, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, "opens up entirely new avenues of research into human reproduction and development, as well as the role of estrogen action as our bodies age," reports the first author of the paper, Brian Kenealy, who earned his Ph.D. this summer in the Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology Program at UW-Madison. Kenealy performed three studies. In the first experiment, a brief infusion of estradiol benzoate administered into the hypothalamus of rhesus monkeys that had surgery to remove their ovaries rapidly stimulated GnRH release.