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Altered pulsatile and coordinate secretion of pituitary hormones in aging: evidence of feedback disruption

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Abstract

A novel thesis is that healthy aging of neuroendocrine axes is marked by disruption of orderly patterns of hormone release (1). This can be quantified by a recently validated approximate entropy statistic applied to 24-hour hormone profiles, e.g., luteinizing hormone (LH), and growth hormone (GH). Moreover, more subtle disturbances of feedback control are indicated by decreased conditional regularity or synchrony (higher cross-approximate entropy) within coupled axes, such as ACTH-cortisol, LH-testosterone, etc. Such alterations can precede any changes in mean serum hormone concentrations, thus highlighting an impact of age on the feedback control mechanisms that coordinate the flow of signaling information within a neuroendocrine axis or network.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Science Foundation Center for Biological Timing, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Box 202, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22908, USA

    J. D. Veldhuis

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  1. J. D. Veldhuis
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Veldhuis, J.D. Altered pulsatile and coordinate secretion of pituitary hormones in aging: evidence of feedback disruption. Aging Clin Exp Res 9 (Suppl 4), 19–20 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03339688

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03339688

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