CONTEXT: Postnatal pituitary-testicular activation in infant boys is well characterized. However, the ovarian response to pituitary activation in infancy is less well understood. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare postnatal developmental changes in the pituitary-ovarian axis in preterm and term infant girls. PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN: Sixty-three infant girls, divided into three groups according to gestational age (GA) [i.e. full term (FT; n = 29; GA, 37-42 wk), near term (NT; n = 17; GA, 34-37 wk), and preterm (PT; n = 17; GA, 24-34 wk)] were examined monthly from 1 wk (D7) to 6 months (M1-M6) of age and reexamined at the corrected age of 14 months (cM14). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We performed a longitudinal follow-up of urinary FSH and serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels and the number of follicles in transabdominal ovarian ultrasonography. RESULTS: The postnatal FSH surge was stronger and more prolonged in NT and PT girls than in FT girls (P ≤ 0.001). Increased folliculogenesis and a rise in AMH levels were observed in all three groups after the FSH surge. In NT and PT girls, follicular development was delayed in comparison with FT girls, and a decrease in high FSH levels around the 40th postmenstrual week was temporally associated with the appearance of antral follicles in ultrasonography and an increase in AMH levels. CONCLUSIONS: The postnatal FSH surge results in transient ovarian stimulation in term and preterm girls. A delay in ovarian folliculogenesis shown in ovarian ultrasonography and by low serum AMH levels may provide an explanation for the exaggerated FSH surge in NT and PT girls.
CONTEXT: Postnatal pituitary-testicular activation in infantboys is well characterized. However, the ovarian response to pituitary activation in infancy is less well understood. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare postnatal developmental changes in the pituitary-ovarian axis in preterm and term infantgirls. PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN: Sixty-three infantgirls, divided into three groups according to gestational age (GA) [i.e. full term (FT; n = 29; GA, 37-42 wk), near term (NT; n = 17; GA, 34-37 wk), and preterm (PT; n = 17; GA, 24-34 wk)] were examined monthly from 1 wk (D7) to 6 months (M1-M6) of age and reexamined at the corrected age of 14 months (cM14). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We performed a longitudinal follow-up of urinary FSH and serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels and the number of follicles in transabdominal ovarian ultrasonography. RESULTS: The postnatal FSH surge was stronger and more prolonged in NT and PT girls than in FT girls (P ≤ 0.001). Increased folliculogenesis and a rise in AMH levels were observed in all three groups after the FSH surge. In NT and PT girls, follicular development was delayed in comparison with FT girls, and a decrease in high FSH levels around the 40th postmenstrual week was temporally associated with the appearance of antral follicles in ultrasonography and an increase in AMH levels. CONCLUSIONS: The postnatal FSH surge results in transient ovarian stimulation in term and preterm girls. A delay in ovarian folliculogenesis shown in ovarian ultrasonography and by low serum AMH levels may provide an explanation for the exaggerated FSH surge in NT and PT girls.
Authors: Ulrich Boehm; Pierre-Marc Bouloux; Mehul T Dattani; Nicolas de Roux; Catherine Dodé; Leo Dunkel; Andrew A Dwyer; Paolo Giacobini; Jean-Pierre Hardelin; Anders Juul; Mohamad Maghnie; Nelly Pitteloud; Vincent Prevot; Taneli Raivio; Manuel Tena-Sempere; Richard Quinton; Jacques Young Journal: Nat Rev Endocrinol Date: 2015-07-21 Impact factor: 43.330
Authors: Richard Christian Jensen; Dorte Glintborg; Clara Amalie Gade Timmermann; Flemming Nielsen; Henriette Boye Kyhl; Hanne Frederiksen; Anna-Maria Andersson; Anders Juul; Johannes J Sidelmann; Helle Raun Andersen; Philippe Grandjean; Marianne S Andersen; Tina Kold Jensen Journal: Environ Res Date: 2019-12-31 Impact factor: 6.498
Authors: Kristen Upson; Quaker E Harmon; Shannon K Laughlin-Tommaso; David M Umbach; Donna D Baird Journal: Epidemiology Date: 2016-09 Impact factor: 4.822