The Relationship Between Progesterone, Sleep, and LH and FSH Secretory Dynamics in Early Postmenarchal Girls
- PMID: 30649404
- PMCID: PMC6482022
- DOI: 10.1210/jc.2018-02400
The Relationship Between Progesterone, Sleep, and LH and FSH Secretory Dynamics in Early Postmenarchal Girls
Abstract
Context: During puberty, LH pulse frequency increases during sleep; in women, LH pulse frequency slows during sleep in the early/middle follicular phase (FP) of the menstrual cycle. The origin and significance of this developmental transition are unknown.
Objective: To determine the relationship between progesterone (P4) exposure, sleep-related slowing of LH pulses in the FP, and the intercycle FSH rise, which promotes folliculogenesis, in early postmenarchal girls.
Methods: 23 girls (gynecologic age 0.4 to 3.5 years) underwent hormone measurements and pelvic ultrasounds during two consecutive cycles and one frequent blood sampling study with concurrent polysomnography during the FP.
Results: Subjects demonstrated one of four patterns during cycle 1 that represent a continuum of P4 exposure: ovulatory cycles with normal or short luteal phase lengths or anovulatory cycles ± follicle luteinization. Peak serum P4 and urine pregnanediol (Pd) in cycle 1 were inversely correlated with LH pulse frequency during sleep in the FP of cycle 2 (r = -0.5; P = 0.02 for both). The intercycle FSH rise and folliculogenesis in cycle 2 were maintained after anovulatory cycles without P4 or Pd exposure or nocturnal slowing of LH pulse frequency in the FP.
Conclusions: During late puberty, rising P4 levels from follicle luteinization and ovulation may promote a slower LH pulse frequency during sleep in the FP. However, a normal FSH rise and follicle growth can occur in the absence of P4-associated slowing. These studies therefore suggest that an immature LH secretory pattern during sleep is unlikely to contribute to menstrual irregularity in the early postmenarchal years.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02486757.
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society 2019.
Figures
![Figure 1.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/6482022/bin/jc.2018-02400f1.gif)
![Figure 2.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/6482022/bin/jc.2018-02400f2.gif)
![Figure 3.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/6482022/bin/jc.2018-02400f3.gif)
Similar articles
-
Healthy Post-Menarchal Adolescent Girls Demonstrate Multi-Level Reproductive Axis Immaturity.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2019 Feb 1;104(2):613-623. doi: 10.1210/jc.2018-00595. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2019. PMID: 30289507 Free PMC article.
-
Regulation of gonadotropin secretion: implications for polycystic ovary syndrome.Semin Reprod Med. 2002 Nov;20(4):317-26. doi: 10.1055/s-2002-36706. Semin Reprod Med. 2002. PMID: 12536355 Review.
-
The roles of estradiol and progesterone in decreasing luteinizing hormone pulse frequency in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1989 Jul;69(1):67-76. doi: 10.1210/jcem-69-1-67. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1989. PMID: 2499593
-
Hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion and follicle-stimulating hormone dynamics during the luteal-follicular transition.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1992 Mar;74(3):600-7. doi: 10.1210/jcem.74.3.1740493. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1992. PMID: 1740493
-
The sequence of pituitary responses to synthetic luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH) throughout the normal menstrual cycle.Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1975 Aug;79(4):625-34. doi: 10.1530/acta.0.0790625. Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1975. PMID: 1098349
Cited by
-
Neuroactive steroid hormone trajectories across the menstrual cycle in premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD): the PHASE study.Mol Psychiatry. 2024 Apr 25. doi: 10.1038/s41380-024-02566-w. Online ahead of print. Mol Psychiatry. 2024. PMID: 38664491
-
Analyzing the atypical - Methods for studying the menstrual cycle in adolescents.Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2023 Dec;158:106389. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106389. Epub 2023 Sep 14. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2023. PMID: 37769538
-
Estradiol-dependent hypocretinergic/orexinergic behaviors throughout the estrous cycle.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2023 Jan;240(1):15-25. doi: 10.1007/s00213-022-06296-1. Epub 2022 Dec 26. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2023. PMID: 36571628 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Factors Affecting Menstrual Cycle Developmental Trajectory in Adolescents: A Narrative Review.Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Mar 2;20(1):e120438. doi: 10.5812/ijem.120438. eCollection 2022 Jan. Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2022. PMID: 35432553 Free PMC article. Review.
-
AMH is Higher Across the Menstrual Cycle in Early Postmenarchal Girls than in Ovulatory Women.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Apr 1;105(4):e1762-71. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa059. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020. PMID: 32016427 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Boyar R, Finkelstein J, Roffwarg H, Kapen S, Weitzman E, Hellman L. Synchronization of augmented luteinizing hormone secretion with sleep during puberty. N Engl J Med. 1972;287(12):582–586. - PubMed
-
- Apter D, Bützow TL, Laughlin GA, Yen SS. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone pulse generator activity during pubertal transition in girls: pulsatile and diurnal patterns of circulating gonadotropins. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1993;76(4):940–949. - PubMed