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Persistence of sleep-associated decrease in GnRH pulse frequency in the absence of gonadal steroids.

Natalie D Shaw¹, Sabrina Gill, Helene B Lavoie

¹Reproductive Endocrine Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism

|June 8, 2011

Summary

Sleep significantly slows gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulse frequency in postmenopausal women. This finding highlights the crucial link between sleep and GnRH secretion, independent of sex hormones.

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Published on: February 23, 2010

Area of Science:

Reproductive Endocrinology
Sleep Medicine
Neuroendocrinology

Background:

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulse frequency characteristically slows during sleep in the early follicular phase.
The influence of the sex steroid environment versus sleep itself on this GnRH pattern remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether sleep impacts GnRH pulse frequency in postmenopausal women (PMW), a group with low gonadal hormone levels.
To determine if aging affects the relationship between sleep and GnRH pulse frequency in PMW.

Main Methods:

Healthy postmenopausal women aged 45-55 and 70-80 years were studied.
Subjects underwent polysomnographic-recorded sleep and monitored wakefulness over separate nights.
Pulsatile secretion of free alpha-subunit (FAS), a marker for GnRH, was measured via frequent blood sampling.

Main Results:

No significant differences in sleep architecture or efficiency were observed between younger and older PMW.
The interval between FAS pulses (a measure of GnRH pulse frequency) was significantly longer during sleep compared to wakefulness in all participants (60.5 vs. 52.0 min, P=0.03).
FAS pulse amplitude did not differ between sleep and wake periods.

Conclusions:

Sleep is associated with a significant decrease in GnRH pulse frequency in both younger and older postmenopausal women.
The observed effect of sleep on GnRH secretion persists in the absence of gonadal hormones, underscoring a direct relationship between sleep and the GnRH pulse generator.