Effect of kisspeptin on reproductive function in women with hypothalamic amenorrhea

Amennorhea是用来描述没有月经而导致不孕不育的女性。在许多女性中，问题的原因是大脑中称为下丘脑的一部分有问题，这被称为下丘脑闭经。下丘脑闭经的原因尚不清楚，治疗与显著的副作用有关。最近在啮齿动物身上的证据表明，一种名为Kispeptin的新荷尔蒙可能是下丘脑闭经女性缺失的因素。给患有下丘脑闭经的啮齿类动物注射Kispeptin可以增加正常月经恢复时间和生育力。患有下丘脑闭经的女性不育，患骨质疏松症和骨折的风险增加，这与疾病增加和更早死亡有关。不能生孩子往往是毁灭性的，可能会导致严重的抑郁症，从而导致婚姻破裂。伦敦帝国理工学院新陈代谢医学系的研究人员将在这项应用中进行研究。他们在人体输液研究方面拥有丰富的经验，以研究新型激素和多肽的生理学，并已开发出确保可靠、安全地将一定剂量的多肽输送到人体内的方案。研究人员最近完成了人类首次在男性和女性身上输注Kispeptin的研究，并表明它可以刺激生殖激素的分泌。研究人员现在打算进行一项研究，对患有下丘脑闭经的女性长期皮下注射Kispeptin，并调查这是否可以恢复循环中的生殖激素，恢复她们的月经和生育能力。

Amennorhea is the term used describe women who have no periods and this results in infertility. In many women the cause of the problem is due to a problem in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus and this is termed hypothalamic amenorrhea. The cause of hypothalamic amenorrhea is not known and treatments are associated with significant side effects. Recent evidence in rodents suggests that a new hormone called kisspeptin may be the missing factor in women with hypothalamic amenorrhea. Administration of kisspeptin to rodents with hypothalamic amenorrhea resulted in an increase in restoration of normal periods and fertility. Women with hypothalamic amenorrhea are infertile and have increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures, which is associated with increased illness and earlier death. The inability to have children is often devastating, and can result in severe depression which can lead to marital breakdown.Investigators in the Department of Metabolic Medicine at Imperial College London will be carrying out the research in this application. They have considerable experience of human infusion studies in order to investigate the physiology of novel hormones and peptides and have developed protocols that ensure reliable, safe delivery of a dose of peptide into humans. The investigators have recently completed the first human infusion studies of kisspeptin in males and females and shown that it stimulates reproductive hormone secretion. The investigators now intend to conduct a study to chronically administer subcutaneous kisspeptin to women with hypothalamic amenorrhea and investigate whether this can restore circulating reproductive hormones and restore their periods and fertility.