lutrelin-acetate and Disease-Models--Animal

This study examined the potential use of the GnRH agonist-treated female monkey as a model for bone loss after medical oophorectomy or the onset of menopause in women. Three female rhesus monkeys (13-16 yr of age) were treated continuously for 10 months with 25 micrograms/day GnRH agonist using osmotic minipumps. All three animals exhibited normal menstrual cycles before treatment. Within 5 weeks of the beginning of GnRH agonist treatment, serum progesterone and estradiol concentrations had fallen to low values and did not rise significantly during the remaining treatment period. The decline in ovarian steroidogenesis was correlated with a reduction in bone mineral density (BMD; bone mineral content/bone width) of the caudal vertebrae and humerus. The reduction of BMD of the caudal vertebrae occurred gradually. The downward trend was evident during the first 3 treatment months, but did not fall significantly below pretreatment levels until 9 months of GnRN agonist treatment. The overall decline in BMD for the caudal vertebrae was approximately 14% after 9 months of GnRH agonist treatment. The measured decline in BMD of the humorous was 11%. Serum osteocalcin levels rose more than 10-fold above pretreatment values between 4 and 7 months of GnRH agonist treatment before declining to levels that approached pretreatment concentrations between 8 and 10 months of treatment. Menstrual cycles were reinitiated within 4 weeks after the termination of treatment, as shown by luteal phase increases in serum progesterone concentrations. BMD of the humerus and caudal vertebrae remained subnormal 2 months posttreatment, but by 5 months had recovered to near-pretreatment values. These data suggest that ovarian hormone deprivation induced by GnRH agonist administration is associated with a decline in BMD in female monkeys, and that this animal model may be an excellent model for postmenopausal bone loss or bone reduction resulting from medical oophorectomy. The GnRH agonist-treated monkey also has the potential to be developed as a model for type I postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Bone Density; Disease Models, Animal; Estradiol; Female; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; Humans; Macaca mulatta; Menopause; Molecular Sequence Data; Osteocalcin; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal; Ovariectomy; Ovary; Progesterone

The use of a GnRH agonist or a progestational steroid (levonorgestrel) for the treatment of endometriosis in monkeys was compared. Four monkeys with spontaneous endometriosis were treated for 6 months with a continuous infusion of a GnRH agonist (25 micrograms/day). Five animals with surgically induced endometriosis were treated with the same agonist for 3 months. An additional group of five monkeys with surgically induced endometriosis was treated orally with levonorgestrel (1 mg/kg X day), while a final group of four monkeys served as untreated controls. During agonist treatment, the four monkeys with spontaneous endometriosis gained body weight and had a greater than 80% decline in cyst size (representing a decline in secretory activity). Monkeys with surgically induced endometriosis had almost total resolution of endometrial lesions during agonist treatment, which was maintained throughout a 4-month posttreatment period. After initial stimulation at the onset of the GnRH agonist infusion, serum LH, FSH, estradiol, and progesterone levels decreased to near the levels of detection, where they remained until treatment was terminated. In comparison, levonorgestrel reduced endometrial lesion size, but the monkeys did not resume normal cycles as early as those treated with the agonist. Levonorgestrel-treated monkeys had normal serum LH and FSH levels, but low serum estradiol and progesterone levels. The results of this study indicate that either continuous infusion of a GnRH agonist or administration of levonorgestrel is effective for treating endometriosis in monkeys. The hormonal data suggest that the GnRH agonist acts at the level of the hypothalamus and pituitary, whereas levonorgestrel acts at the ovarian level.

Topics: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Endometriosis; Endometrium; Estradiol; Female; Follicle Stimulating Hormone; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; Infusion Pumps; Levonorgestrel; Luteinizing Hormone; Macaca mulatta; Menstrual Cycle; Monkey Diseases; Norgestrel; Progesterone