Does menopause start in the brain? Research volunteers needed

ANN ARBOR—Researchers at the University of Michigan’s School of Nursing and Medical School have received a four-year, $1 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to test the theory that menopause starts in the brain, rather than in the ovary where the gradual loss of eggs leads to a fall in estrogen.

Some scientists believe that aging changes in the hypothalamus (the part of the brain that controls the hormone rhythms of the menstrual cycle) may trigger the acceleration of oocyte depletion which begins after age 35 and results in a dramatic decline in fertility. As a way to test this theory, researchers will compare the 24-hour pattern of LH and FSH secretion (pituitary hormones known to show distinct diurnal rhythms in young, ovulatory women) with those in women over 40 with and without menstrual cycles.

In addition, women who have had their ovaries and uterus removed and are using hormone replacement therapy will also be studied to learn whether the ovaries help regulate any effect of age on brain hormone biorhythms.

Healthy women (ages 20-30 and 40-50) are needed for the study. The following study groups are being recruited: women with regular menstrual cycles; women who are postmenopausal (no period for at least 12 months and not taking hormones); women after total hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus and ovaries) and taking hormones.

Participants will receive $250 for taking part in the overnight study conducted at the General Clinical Research Center at University Hospital.

School of Nursing Prof. Nancy Reame, who has already tested the experimental protocol on herself, is the study’s principal investigator. For more information on this study, contact the Women’s Health Research Project at the Center for Nursing Research, U-M, at (734) 936-3590 or www.umich.edu/~rspwww/html/n._reame.html

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School of NursingNancy Reamewww.umich.edu/~rspwww/html/n._reame.htmlU-M News and Information ServicesUniversity of Michigan