The goal of this study is to further our understanding of the reproductive aging process in the normal human female with special emphasis on the ovarian peptides. A monotropic rise in follicle stimulating hormone in older ovulatory women is associated with normal follicle size and apparently normal ovarian hormone secretion. These older women have what appears to be accelerated follicular development with earlier onset of the acute follicular estradiol rise, an earlier lutenizing hormone surge and earlier ovulation. These findings are manifested as a shortened follicular phase and a shortened total menstrual cycle length. This study is designed to further characterize this change in pituitary output of FSH by suppressing the pituitary gonadotropin secretion of all subjects using a gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist and then studying the recovery response after discontinued suppression.
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