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Running is associated with an increase in plasma concentrations of certain anterior pituitary hormones and adrenal steroids. This study reports such increases after a marathon race. Six trained female runners, 26 to 42 years old, participated in a marathon race. Fasting (resting) blood samples were collected a few weeks before the race (baseline) and immediately (0 hour), 1 hour, and 4 hours after the run. The data were analyzed with the use of two-way analyses of variance (F-test), paired t-test, and Page's test. At 0 hour, compared with baseline, significant increases were observed in the plasma concentrations of testosterone (T), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), cortisol (F), free T index (T/SHBG), and prolactin (PRL). At 1 hour, levels of these steroid hormones and PRL declined, some significantly. At 4 hours, levels of all hormones except DHEA-S returned to baseline. No significant changes were observed in concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), as evaluated by F-test. Running-associated changes in plasma hormonal concentrations revert to baseline in four hours, although DHEA-S may take a little longer.

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Failure to extrude an ovum, with subsequent luteinization of the unruptured follicle (LUF), has been proposed as a cause of infertility in women with mild endometriosis. To assess the incidence of this process we performed laparoscopies in the early luteal phase on 16 women with mild endometriosis and 8 control subjects. Peritoneal fluid was aspirated and a plasma sample obtained concurrently. Estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) concentrations were determined. A review of the literature suggested that the following hormonal criteria correlated with follicular rupture: fluid E2 greater than or equal to 500 pg/ml, E2 fluid/plasma ratio greater than or equal to 3.1, fluid P greater than or equal to 3,000 ng/dl and P fluid/plasma ratio greater than or equal to 5:1. All control subjects met at least one E2 and one P criterion: 75% met all. In contrast, less than one-third with mild endometriosis met all, and three (19%) met none. Five met only E2 criteria. These findings suggest that LUF occurs occasionally in association with mild endometriosis. Additionally, ovarian steroidogenesis, particularly P secretion, was impaired frequently in the absence of LUF in women with endometriosis.

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Twenty-one post-menopausal women on no other medication were treated with a low dose (0.625 mg/day) of conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) for a mean (+/- SEM) period of 2.6 +/- 0.2 mth (range 1.75-4.75). Blood samples were collected before and at the completion of therapy, and alterations in the levels of prolactin (PRL), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and certain steroid hormones, including the free testosterone (T) index (T/SHBG) were studied. Following treatment, a significant increase in SHBG levels produced a significant decrease in the free T index (P less than 0.005). As expected, no changes were observed in the levels of PRL and steroid hormones other than estrone (E1) and estradiol-17-beta (E2). Our observations indicate that treatment of post-menopausal women with low-dose estrogen lowers the unbound T.

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The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of infused vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) upon reproductive function in the female rabbit. Intravenous infusions of VIP (37.5, 75, and 150 pmol/kg per min) induced acute dose-dependent increases in plasma progesterone (P) but not estradiol (E2) or testosterone (T) in estrous rabbits. This P effect was not associated with an increase in plasma prolactin (Prl) and was not altered by pretreatment with a Prl-inhibiting regimen of bromocriptine. In rabbits stimulated to ovulate with 75 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and coitus, plasma P and E2 increased, reaching a peak at 180 min following stimulation. VIP (75 pmol/kg per min) infused from 120 to 180 min following the ovulatory stimuli increased this P peak but did not effect E2 levels. This VIP infusion had no effect upon fertility or upon the number of corpora lutea, uterine implants, or viable conceptuses. Infusions of VIP for 60 min at the P peak, and for 240 min at the time of ovulation, had no significant effect upon ovum pickup or the rate of ovum transport. These observations suggest that 1) VIP infusions in rabbits can increase plasma P from both the basal levels of estrus and from the peak levels preceding ovluation. 2) Infusions of VIP at the time of the preovulatory steroid surge or during ovulation have little effect upon fertility or gamete transport in the rabbit. 3) Endogenous VIP may play a role in the regulation of P secretion in the rabbit.

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The relationship of sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) with actual body weight (ABW), ideal body weight (IBW), ABW as percentage of the IBW (% IBW), Quetelet index (weight/height2) and plasma concentrations of various androgens and 17 beta-estradiol (E2) were studied in 9 normal and 57 hirsute patients (group 1). In hirsute patients, plasma levels (ng/dl, mean +/- standard error of the mean [SEM]) of testosterone (T; 77 +/- 4), dihydrotestosterone (DHT; 26 +/- 2), androstenedione (delta 4A; 184 +/- 16), and SHBG (0.91 +/- 0.05 micrograms DHT/dl) but not of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA; 608 +/- 55) and E2 (6.1 +/- 0.1) were significantly different from those in controls. A negative correlation was observed between SHBG and ABW, both in controls (P less than 0.05) and hirsute patients (P less than 0.01). The hirsute patient population was subdivided into two groups: nonobese (group 2; 60 +/- 1 kg; n = 35) and obese (group 3; 96 +/- 2 kg; n = 22). Plasma androgens, T/SHBG (an index of free T) and E2 in groups 2 and 3 (T: 75 +/- 4, 81 +/- 7; DHT: 24 +/- 2, 28 +/- 3; T/SHBG: 85 +/- 7, 105 +/- 11; delta 4A: 203 +/- 13, 155 +/- 16; DHA: 663 +/- 83, 521 +/- 49; E2: 6.1 +/- 1.0, 5.8 +/- 0.9) were similar; yet SHBG in group 3 (0.75 +/- 0.04) was significantly lower than in group 2 (1.0 +/- 0.01). Inverse correlations between SHBG and ABW, % IBW, and ABW/H2 were observed in group 2 but not in group 3. We conclude that a negative relationship exists between SHBG and the body size in nonobese women and that in hirsute patients, obesity leads to a further lowering of SHBG through mechanism(s) probably independent of androgens.

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Six normally menstruating women who regularly run participated in a 10-mile race. Blood samples were collected within 20 minutes after the completion of the race (group 1). Samples were analyzed, and the results were compared with plasma hormonal concentrations in the same runners in samples collected between 12 and 24 hours after a previous practice run (group 2) and with our nonathletic female controls. Plasma concentrations of the following hormones in group 1 were significantly elevated when compared with group 2: dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA), androstenedione (delta 4A), testosterone (T), cortisol (F), luteinizing hormone (LH), and prolactin (PRL). Levels of 17 beta-estradiol (E2), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAS), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were comparable in groups 1 and 2. However, DHAS in group 1 was elevated when compared with controls, as were HDA, delta 4A,T,F,LH, and PRL. In group 1, but not in group 2, a significant correlation (P less than 0.05) was observed between plasma LH and PRL concentrations but not between FSH an PRL. We conclude that the immediate effect of running is reflected in increased levels of the adrenal androgens, F, LH, and PRL. However, concentrations of these hormones revert back to baseline within 12 to 24 hours after the race.

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Plasma androgen, 17 beta-estradiol, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels were measured in 11 normal subjects (group 1), 18 hirsute patients with no clitoromegaly (group 2), 13 hirsute patients with clitoromegaly (group 3), and 8 patients with clitoromegaly but no hirsutism (group 4). Significantly elevated levels of testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) were found in groups 2 and 3 but not in group 4 when compared with group 1. In contrast, levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in groups 1 and 2 were comparable but significantly lower than those in group 3 and 4; the levels in the latter two groups were not significantly different from each other. In groups 2, 3, and 4, levels of androstenedione (delta 4A) and the factor T/SHBG were significantly elevated whereas SHBG levels were significantly suppressed when compared with those of group 1. The clitoral index correlated (P less than 0.01) with DHEA levels in group 3. It is concluded that clitoromegaly without hirsutism is associated with increased plasma levels of DHEA and delta 4A. In contrast, hirsutism without clitoromegaly is associated with elevated levels of T, DHT, and delta 4A but normal DHEA levels.

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