Aging is characterized by changes in neuroendocrine/endocrine functions which are manifest in female reproductive physiology and less perceptible in other functions such as thyroid, adrenal or growth/metabolic functions. The contribution of each level of the axis – hypothalamus, adenohypophysis or peripheral tissues – is not clearly established. Functional impairments with age are recognized in the peripheral glands (gonad, thyroid, adrenal) as well as in the pituitary, but increasing evidence is accumulating for a marked contribution of the hypothalamus in the age-associated endocrine changes observed in animals and humans. In old rats, multineuronal dysfunctions are demonstrated in the hypothalamus, with a documented decline in the activity of the neurons producing dopamine and thyrotropin-releasing hormone, and to a lesser extent luteinizing hormone- and growth hormone-releasing hormones, and alterations in regulatory mechanisms of these neurons are disclosed. Moreover, impairments are observed in the processing – binding, accumulation and intracellular distribution – of hypothalamic hormones in the adenohypophysis of old rats. Taken together, these observations are supportive of the view that the neuroendocrine/endocrine changes appearing with age result from a complex balance of functional alterations occurring at each level – central and peripheral – of the axis.

Keywords:
Aging, Hypothalamus, Adenohypophysis, Dopamine, Thyrotropin-releasing hormone, Prolactin, Thyrotropin, Reproductive function, Thyroid function
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© 1989 S. Karger AG, Basel
1989
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