Abstract
We have earlier reported on oestradiol producing ovarian cysts and high serum concentrations of oestradiol in four very preterm infants at a postconceptional age (PCA) that slightly precedes the expected time of birth.
To determine the maturation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian axis in preterm girls we measured the serum concentration of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stainulating hormone (FSH) before and after an i.v. injection of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH). At a PCA of 33 weeks all preterm girls born at a PCA of 27 weeks and less had high basal serum concentrations of FSH and LH (15.4 and 5.2 g/l respectively) and had a postpubertal type of response to LHRH. At the same PCA preterm girls born at a PCA of 28-32 weeks shewed the same type of response.
When the LHRH test was repeated at a PCA of 40 weeks, preterm girls with a low serum concentration of FSH shewed a transient increase in oestradiol from 309 to 453 pmol/l (mean values). Almost all girls had a prepubertal type of response, which is normal for that age. Thus maturation of the hypcthalamo-pituitary-ovarian axis occurs late in fetal life.
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Sedin, G., Bergquist, C., Lindgren, P. et al. 83 MATURATION OF THE HYPOTHALMO-PITUITARY-OVARINS AXIS IN PRETERM GIRLS. Pediatr Res 28, 291 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199009000-00107
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199009000-00107