Oral dehydroepiandrosterone restores ß-endorphin response to OGTT in early and late postmenopause

Abstract

ß-endorphin is a neuropeptide involved in several brain functions: its plasma levels are higher in obese women and its release increases after oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in normal or obese women. The study included 46 healthy women and evaluated the effect of oral dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA] (50 mg/day) in early postmenopausal women (50–55 years) both of normal weight (group A, n = 12, BMI = 22.1 ± 0.5) and overweight (group B, n = 12, BMI = 28.2 ± 0.5), and late postmenopausal women (60–65 years) both normal weight (group C, n = 11, BMI = 22.5 ± 0.6) and overweight (group D, n = 11, BMI = 27.9 ± 0.4) undergone OGTT, in order to investigate if DHEA could restore/modify the control of insulin and glucose secretion and ß-endorphin release in response to glucose load. The area under the curve (AUC) of OGTT evaluated plasma levels of different molecules. DHEA, DHEAS, and ß-endorphin plasma levels were lower in baseline conditions in older women than younger women. Considering the AUC of ß-endorphin response to OGTT, all groups showed a progressive significant increase after 3 and also after 6 months of treatment in comparison to baseline and 3 months of treatment.

Chinese abstract

β-内啡肽是一种参与多种脑功能的神经肽：肥胖女性的血浆水平较高, 在正常或肥胖女性口服葡萄糖耐量试验（OGTT）后其释放量增加。该研究纳入了46名健康女性, 将其分组：绝经后早期女性（50-55岁）的正常体重组（A组, n = 12, BMI = 22.1 ± 0.5）和超重组（B组, n = 12, BMI = 28.2 ± 0.5）, 晚期绝经后妇女（60-65岁）正常体重组（C组, n = 11, BMI = 22.5 ± 0.6）和超重组（D组, n = 11, BMI = 27.9 ± 0.4）。研究女性均口服脱氢表雄酮[DHEA]（50mg /天）后行OGTT, 以研究DHEA是否可以恢复/改变胰岛素和葡萄糖分泌的控制以及释放β-内啡肽来应对葡萄糖负荷。OGTT的曲线下面积（AUC）评估了不同分子的血浆水平。DHEA, DHEAS和β-内啡肽血浆基线水平老年女性低于年轻女性。β-内啡肽对OGTT反应的AUC, 与基线和治疗3个月相比所有组在治疗3个月和治疗6个月后均显示出进行性显着增长。

Keywords:

• Menopause
• ß-endorphin
• dehydroepiandrosterone

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.