Pharmacologically Induced Hypogonadism and Sexual Function in Healthy Young Women and Men

Schmidt, Peter J.; Steinberg, Emma M.; Negro, P; Haq, Nowreen; Gibson, Carolyn J.; Rubinow, David R.

doi:10.1038/npp.2008.24

Cited by 46 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 98 publications

(164 reference statements)

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“…None of the women or men reported day or night hot-flushes at baseline. Otherwise consistent with previous reports in these samples of healthy volunteers, Lupron administration was tolerated without the onset of significant mood or behavioral symptoms (Ben Dor et al, 2013; Schmidt et al, 2013; Schmidt et al, 2009). Plasma sex steroid levels during GnRH agonist-induced hypogonadism were consistently suppressed at the time of testing in all men and women relative to baseline conditions.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Clinically significant day or night hot-flushes (i.e., seven-day average score ≥ 2) were reported by all women ( N = 14) and seventy-three percent of men ( N = 11) during hypogonadism (as well as vaginal dryness in women and decreased libido in some women and men (Schmidt et al, 2009)). None of the women or men reported day or night hot-flushes at baseline.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nonetheless, it is possible that our study was not of sufficient duration to identify the longer-term effects of hot-flushes and the accompanying sleep disturbance on cognitive function in the tasks we measured. Similarly, in healthy volunteers, studies report only minor changes in mood or behavior in men and women (Ben Dor et al, 2013; Schmidt et al, 2013; Schmidt et al, 2009) receiving Lupron. Thus, we did not observe nor did we anticipate that the emergence of adverse mood symptoms would significantly impact cognitive performance in the participants of this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex differences in visuospatial abilities persist during induced hypogonadism

et al. 2016

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Background Despite well-established sex differences in the performance on tests of several cognitive domains (e.g., visuospatial ability), few studies in humans have evaluated if these sex differences are evident both in the presence of circulating sex hormones and during sex steroid hormonal suppression. Sex differences identified in the relative absence of circulating levels of estradiol and testosterone suggest that differences in brain structure or function exist independent of current hormonal environment and are more likely a reflection of differing developmental exposures and/or genetic substrates. Objective To evaluate cognitive performance in healthy eugonadal men and women before and again during GnRH agonist-induced hypogonadism. Methods Men (n = 16) and women (n = 15) without medical or psychiatric illness were matched for IQ. Cognitive tests were performed at baseline (when eugonadal) and after 68 weeks of GnRH agonist-induced gonadal suppression. The test batteries included measures of verbal and spatial memory, spatial ability, verbal fluency, motor speed/dexterity, and attention/concentration. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures models. Results During both eugonadism and hypogonadism, men performed significantly better than women on several measures of visuospatial performance including mental rotation, line orientation, Money Road Map, Porteus maze, and complex figure drawing. Although some test performances showed an effect of hormone treatment, the majority of these differences reflected an improved performance during hypogonadism compared with baseline (and probably reflected practice effects). Conclusion The well-documented male advantage in visuospatial performance, which we observed during eugonadal conditions, was maintained in the context of short-term suppression of gonadal function in both men and women. These findings suggest that, in humans, sex differences in visuospatial performance are not merely dependent on differences in the current circulating sex steroid environment. Thus sex differences in visuospatial performance in adulthood could reflect early developmental effects of sex steroid exposure or other environmental exposures differing across the sexes as our data confirm that these differences are independent of circulating estradiol or testosterone levels in men and women.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex differences in visuospatial abilities persist during induced hypogonadism

et al. 2016

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“…This latter conclusion from clinical assessments agrees with the experimental study that gave healthy premenopausal subjects injections of depot leuprolide, a downregulator of the secretion of gonadotrophins, inducing hypogonadism that caused significant decreases in the intensity of their orgasms (Schmidt et al, 2009).…”

Section: Orgasm and Female Ageingsupporting

confidence: 70%

Sexuality of the ageing female – the underlying physiology

Levin¹

2014

Sexual and Relationship Therapy

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While the ageing process occurs both in males and females, the latter have the added effects of the changes brought about by the menopause. The review characterises the many menopausal changes that the decrease in oestrogens produces in neural, skeletal, circulatory and genital systems. Many of these changes can adversely affect the sexual functioning of women. The increase in female lifespan means that women can spend 30À40 years in the postmenopausal condition. Treatments need to be developed to ensure that their healthspan (those years spent without chronic-age related dysfunctions) is also increased.

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“…The report by Schmidt et al (2008) examines data from their studies examining gonadal suppression and subsequent hormone replacement on aspects of sexual functioning in men and women. The effects of gonadal suppression were sex specific.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspective: Sex Matters: Gonadal Steroids and the Brain

Young

Becker

2009

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Sex matters to every cell of the body and thus gonadal steroids have the capability of affecting numerous behaviors and neurotransmitters. Several reports in this issue highlight the importance of gonadal steroids: estradiol and progesterone modulate the serotonin transporter in rodents changes in D2 receptors across the menstrual cycle in female cynomolgus monkeys testosterone influences amygdala reactivity in women and temporary suppression of gonadal steroids influences sexual in both men and women. This body of work challenges all of neuropsychopharmacology to consider the importance of sex and gonadal steroids in future studies. Neuropsychopharmacology (2009) 34, 537-538; doi:10.1038/npp.2008 Sex matters to every cell of the body (Wizemann and Pardue, 2001). Despite this conclusion by the IOM, the area of sex and gonadal hormones is frequently ignored in the field of neuropsychopharmacology and other basic biomedical fields. This is to a large extent because of the difficulty of parsing the roles of chromosomal sex, gonadal sex, and gonadal steroid hormones (Becker et al, 2005). Nevertheless, these are factors that are increasingly important to address, as evidenced by the articles in this issue of Neuropsychopharmacology. In this issue of Neuropsychopharmacology the importance of sex/gender differences in the brain as well as the effects of steroid hormones on brain function are examined from the perspective of psychiatric disorders, the neurological basis of sexual behavior and neurotransmitter receptor/ transporter function.Depression is more common in women, and women appear to respond better to SSRIs than men (Kornstein et al, 2000;Young et al, 2008). In addition, SSRIs are an excellent treatment for premenstrual dysphoria disorder. Thus, the report by Benmansour et al (2008) demonstrating a sex specific effect of estradiol and progesterone on function of the serotonin transporter is quite important. However, the effect is the opposite of what would be predicted from the clinical literature, further underscoring the complexity of understanding the interactions between ovarian hormones and serotonin systems. Perhaps these findings help us to better understand the vulnerability to mood disorders at times when estradiol and progesterone are high, such as the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Of note is the fact that these changes in response to estradiol and progesterone were not observed in hippocampi of male rats, underscoring the importance of sexual differentiation of the brain on the effects of gonadal steroids.Studying nonhuman primates with PET imaging of D2 receptors, Czoty et al (2008) found that [18F]FCP binding sites showed a greater availability in the caudate and putamen during the luteal phase, suggesting more unoccupied receptors during this menstrual cycle phase. Although the changes might be due to increased numbers of receptors, the use of a ligand displaceable by endogenous DA suggests the alternative possibility that higher receptor availability reflects decreased DA release during...

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Pharmacologically Induced Hypogonadism and Sexual Function in Healthy Young Women and Men

Cited by 46 publications

References 98 publications

Sex differences in visuospatial abilities persist during induced hypogonadism

Sex differences in visuospatial abilities persist during induced hypogonadism

Sexuality of the ageing female – the underlying physiology

Perspective: Sex Matters: Gonadal Steroids and the Brain

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