Abstract
The aim of this study was to ascertain whether there was an interrelationship between gonadal steroids and endogenous opioid peptides. The effects of naloxone (20 mg, intravenously) and of a met-enkephalin analog (DAMME) (250 micrograms, intravenously) on gonadotropin secretion in three castrated men (18 to 23 years of age) and in five age-matched normal men were studied. Normal subjects were studied before and after treatment with a specific nonsteroidal estrogen receptor antagonist, clomiphene. Naloxone caused a significant increase in luteinizing hormone (LH) (P less than 0.05); in these subjects, clomiphene treatment significantly increased LH and follicle-stimulating hormone plasma levels but totally suppressed the naloxone-induced rise in LH. In castrated men, naloxone failed to increase plasma LH levels. However, DAMME significantly reduced plasma LH levels in normal, in castrated, and in clomiphene-treated normal subjects. The results demonstrate that in castrated subjects who lack gonadal steroids and in normal subjects with blocked estrogen receptors there is a reduced opioid inhibitory tone on gonadotropin secretion. The effect of DAMME on gonadotropin secretion, however, is not influenced by the gonadal steroid environment.
Published Version
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