Growth hormone responses to low-dose physostigmine in elderly vs. young women and men

Gerontology
R T RubinR K Czambel

Abstract

Growth hormone (GH) secretion is a sensitive measure of CNS cholinergic neurotransmission, and GH decreases considerably with age. Cholinesterase inhibitors, which increase acetylcholine concentrations, have been used in elderly subjects to investigate the neuroendocrine effects of aging and Alzheimer's disease. However, there have been only a few studies of a potential sex difference in GH responses to cholinesterase inhibitors in elderly subjects, with mixed results. We therefore administered low-dose physostigmine (PHYSO), a cholinesterase inhibitor, to normal, non-hormone-replaced, elderly women and men, to ascertain a potential sex difference in GH response. We hypothesized: (1) elderly women and men would have similar hormone responses, because of relatively low circulating estrogen in the women, and (2) the elderly women would have significantly lower baseline GH and GH responses to cholinergic challenge than the young women we studied previously. Normal elderly women and men > or =65 years of age meeting stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria were studied on three test days, 4-7 days apart, by serial blood sampling for several hours for baseline GH, followed by administration of low-dose PHYSO (first and third days)...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1992·Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders·E LampertiE E Müller
May 1, 1991·The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism·M Kelijman, L A Frohman
Jan 1, 1991·International Clinical Psychopharmacology·J V LuceyT G Dinan
May 1, 1990·The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism·M A RaskindD M Dorsa
Jun 1, 1988·Journal of Endocrinological Investigation·G DelitalaR Virdis
Sep 1, 1987·The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism·I LangH Templ
Dec 1, 1967·The British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology·M Hamilton
Jan 1, 1980·Neurobiology of Aging·R StrongS J Enna
Oct 1, 1981·Journal of Neurochemistry·G E Gibson, C Peterson
Jan 1, 1995·European Journal of Endocrinology·J BertheratJ Epelbaum
Mar 1, 1995·The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences·E R PeskindC Sikkema
Feb 15, 1996·The Journal of Clinical Investigation·C A JaffeA L Barkan
Apr 8, 1999·Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·R T RubinR K Czambel
Apr 3, 2002·Neuropsychopharmacology : Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology·Robert T RubinR Kenneth Czambel
Oct 24, 2002·Neurobiology of Aging·Eugenio E MullerSilvano G Cella
Jun 29, 2004·Psychoneuroendocrinology·Nathan HerrmannLyla R Khan
Nov 25, 2004·Endocrine Reviews·Roy G SmithYuxiang Sun

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations


❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Basal Forebrain- Circuits

Basal forebrain is a region in the brain important for production of acetylcholine and is the major cholinergic output of the CNS. Discover the latest research on circuits in the basal forebrain here.