Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone in prepubertal and pubertal girls

Estimations of immunoreactive LH-RH and LH in pooled sera of girls, adult women and postmenopausal women have been carried out. The girls were divided into three groups: I--girls aged 2--4 years, II--girls aged 5--8 years and III--girls 9--12 years of age. The estimated concentrations of LH-RH in particular groups were as following: in group I--1.2 +/- 0.2 pg/ml, in group II--2.2 +/- 0.4 pg/ml, in group III 31.0 +/- 4.4 pg/ml, in adult women 6.3 +/- 1.8 pg/ml. and in postmenopausal women 16.6 +/- 2.4 pg/ml. The concentrations of LH in the same groups were 4.3 +/- 0.7; 4.5 +/- 0.8; 11.0 +/- 1.4, 23.3 +/- 2.4; and 120.0 +/- 14.7 mIU/ml, respectively. The authors suggest that the sexual maturation of girls is initiated by the enhanced hypothalamic activity, reflected in higher concentrations of immunoreactive LH-RH in peripheral serum.