Pituitary and/or peripheral estrogen-receptor alpha regulates follicle-stimulating hormone secretion, whereas central estrogenic pathways direct growth hormone and prolactin secretion in postmenopausal women.

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) in this randomized controlled trial publication.

Their objective was to distinguish between hypothalamic and pituitary or peripheral (hepatic) actions of E2.

Why It Was Studied

Estradiol (E(2)) stimulates GH and prolactin secretion and suppresses FSH secretion in postmenopausal women.

Whether central nervous system (CNS) or pituitary mechanisms (or both) mediate such actions is not known.

Who Took Part

The study group was 43 women.

PubMed indexes the participants as middle-aged adults and older adults, women only.

The capability of a selective, noncompetitive, non-CNS permeant estrogen receptor (ER)-alpha antagonist, fulvestrant (FUL) to antagonize the effects of transdermal E2 and Pl on GH, prolactin, and FSH secretion was assessed in 43 women (ages 50-80 yr) in a four parallel-cohort study.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and parallel-group.

The women were allocated by chance, so the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) group and the comparison group should start out alike.

As a double-blind Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Some women received a placebo instead of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over), giving a reference point.

Groups ran in parallel: each of the women stayed in one arm throughout.

This study was performed in an academic medical center.

This was a double-blind, prospectively randomized, placebo (Pl)-controlled study.

Each woman received four secretagogue infusions to stimulate GH secretion.

IGF-I and its binding proteins were measured secondarily.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Brain, Estrogen Receptor alpha, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, Human Growth Hormone, Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1, Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 and Insulin-Like Growth Factor I.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) in 43 women.

Results are reported in around 4 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2008 (The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs (why they're passed over) compound page, all human trials.