The Study
Dose-response effects of exogenous pulsatile human corticotropin-releasing hormone on adrenocorticotropin, cortisol, and gonadotropin concentrations in agonadal women.
This study gave women a hormone and watched what happened to other hormones in their blood. It found that more of the hormone made more cortisol, but didn’t change other hormones. But because only 5 women were tested, we can’t say this will happen to everyone.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists gave post-menopausal women increasing doses of a stress hormone trigger to see if it would stop their reproductive hormones from working.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 553 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even under strong stress hormone conditions, the body didn't reduce reproductive hormone signals in women who no longer have ovaries.
- 2Stress hormone (cortisol) went up a lot, but reproductive hormones (LH and FSH) and their pulses stayed exactly the same.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism
Year
1991
Authors
M. A. Thomas, R. Rebar, A. Labarbera, E. Pennington, J. Liu
Related Content
Claims (4)
When human corticotropin-releasing hormone is given in pulses at doses of 0.5 to 2.0 micrograms per kilogram to women aged 46–65 who are post-menopausal or ovariectomized, cortisol levels rise due to sustained ACTH release, while luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels remain unchanged.
In women who have gone through menopause or had their ovaries removed, a temporary surge in cortisol caused by a specific hormone injection does not reduce the levels of luteinizing hormone or follicle-stimulating hormone, even when cortisol levels rise significantly.
In women who have gone through menopause or had their ovaries removed, giving increasing doses of a specific hormone called corticotropin-releasing hormone raises cortisol levels but does not change how often or how strongly the body releases luteinizing hormone.
Higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol reduce the signal from the hypothalamus that triggers testosterone production.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.