Progesterone-Mediated Inhibition of the GnRH Pulse Generator: Differential Sensitivity as a Function of Sleep Status.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Gonadorelin, published as a randomized controlled trial.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as children and teenagers, women only.

Eleven normal, postmenarcheal girls, ages 12 to 15 years.

Subjects completed two 18-hour admissions in separate menstrual cycles (cycle days 6 to 11).

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

The participants were allocated by chance, so the Gonadorelin group and the comparison group should start out alike.

Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Gonadorelin, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

Some participants received a placebo instead of Gonadorelin, giving a reference point.

Each person switched between Gonadorelin and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded crossover study.

Frequent blood sampling for LH assessment was performed at 1800 to 1200 hours; sleep was encouraged at 2300 to 0700 hours.

A second admission, performed at least 2 months later, was identical to the first except that placebo was exchanged for progesterone or vice versa (treatment crossover).

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Circadian Rhythm, Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone, Luteinizing Hormone, Menarche, Progesterone, Progestins and Sleep.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Gonadorelin.

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2018 (The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Gonadorelin compound page, all human trials.