1986 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Studies on the age-related changes in pituitary-adrenocortical and gonadal function
| Project/Area Number |
60570534
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
内分泌・代謝学
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| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
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Principal Investigator |
KATO Ken-ichi Kyushu University, Faculty of Medicine, Associate professor, 医学部, 助教授 (50038634)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
HAJI Masafumi Kyushu University, Faculty of Medicine, Assistant, 医学部, 助手 (10136468)
OHASHI Masao Kyushu University, Faculty of Medicine, Assistant, 医学部, 助手 (90117078)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1985 – 1986
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| Keywords | Aging / Hypothalamus / Pituitary / Adrenal cortex / Gonad / レセプター |
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| Research Abstract |
Age-related changes in pituitary-adrenocortical and pituitary-gonadal function in normal healthy human subjects were studied, and the following results were obtained.
1. Pituitary-adrenocortical axis: (1)No significant age-related changes in the responsiveness of pituitary-adrenocortical axis to hypothalamic CRF stimulation were observed. (2)Although plasma cortisol levels remained unchanged, plasma adrenal androgens, such as dehydroepiandrosterone(DHEA) and DHEA sulfate, showed a gradual decline with aging. This decrease might be due to the decreased activities of the enzymes responsible for biosynthesis of adrenal androgens, especially C17,20lyase in the aged adrenal gland. And we found an association between adrenal lipid peroxidation and a decrease in adrenal androgen biosynthesis with aging. (3)Plasma concentrations of human atrial natriuretic polypeptide(hANP) in the elderly men were higher than those in the young men. However, the increases in plasma cGMP concentrations during Na
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Cl loading were similar in both groups. (4)The sctivity of aromatase induced by glucocorticoid(GC) in cultured fibroblasts of the elderly males was lower than that in the cells of the young males. This suggested that there were some alterations in the mechanism of GC action in the aging cells.
2. Pituitary-gonadal axis: (1)The higher levels of plasma LH and FSH and the higher responsiveness to LH-RH were found in the elderly subjects, when compared with the young controls. (2)The data obtained in this study suggested the possibilities that in the elderly men the set-point to sex steroids in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis is reset at a higher level and the dopaminergic effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary system is reduced. (3)Plasma 7B2 concentrations decreased with aging, and a positive correlation between plasma 7B2 levels and plasma LH levels was found. (4) The mean levels of leumorphin in spinal liquor fluid showed a gradual decrease from 40 years of age. (5)There was no significant difference in maximum binding capacity and apparent dissociation constant of GC receptors in cultured pubic skin fibroblasts between young and elderly males. However, the maximum binding capacity of androgen receptors was significantly decreased in the cells of elderly males. Less
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Research Products
(16 results)
