Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) physiology in men and women.

The combined approach used in studies of GnRH secretion provided a complimentary array of techniques with which to establish the program of amplitude (dose) and frequency of GnRH secretion in the physiologic state. Normative data in men and women were useful in formulating frequency estimates, which could then be applied to the task of replacement of GnRH in deficient (IHH) individuals. Comparison of the results of therapy with these 'ablation-replacement' models then allowed to arrive closer to the true amplitude or dose of exogenous GnRH required to duplicate the physiologic ideal. In addition to providing insight into the neuroendocrine control of reproduction, these applications provided treatment of various reproductive disorders in men and women. Further expansion of the efforts into other potential defects of endogenous GnRH secretion will ultimately uncover those disorders amenable to therapy.