[Efficacy of replenishing kidney therapy on biological activity of serum luteinizing hormone in aged subjects].

There have been many research reports about changes of aging of hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad axis, but no satisfactory explanation on the constancy or elevation of serum gonadotropin level in aging. However it is important in revealing the mechanism for aging gonadal axis of and its function in regulating gonadal gland as well as the senility delaying process with therapy for replenishing the Kidney. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH) of 48 men at various age was investigated with Rat Interstitial Cell Testosterone Assay (RICT) and Radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques. The serum level of RICT (B-LH) tended to decrease and the B-LH/I-LH ratio was significantly lower (P < 0.01) than that in aged group (> or = 50 years old) in comparing with the young group (< or = 44 years old). The result suggested that the biological activity of LH decreased with age and the stimulative function of pituitary to testes also diminished. With the recipe "Bao Chun Pill" in replenishing the Kidney for 3 months, the biological activity was markedly enhanced (P < 0.05), the serum testosterone (T) was also escalated (P < 0.01). Both of them in treated group were higher than those in control group (P < 0.05). The study and our previous works showed that the therapy for replenishing the Kidney could improve the function of gonadal axis in aging subjects at all levels of hypothalamus, pituitary, gonad.