Age-dependent changes in the reproductive axis responsiveness to kisspeptin-10 administration in healthy men.
Ullah. Hamid H; Nabi. Ghulam G; Zubair. Hira H; Ullah. Rahim R; Shahab. Muhammad M
Key Findings
- Kisspeptin-10 injection caused a significant increase in LH levels in adult, middle‑aged, and older men.
- Only the adult (younger) men showed a significant rise in testosterone after the kisspeptin‑10 dose.
- The hypothalamic‑pituitary axis remains responsive to kisspeptin throughout life, but Leydig cell (testosterone‑producing) responsiveness declines with age.
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers, kisspeptin can reliably trigger LH release, but the expected boost in testosterone is limited to younger men. The study used an IV bolus, which isn’t a convenient everyday method, so applying this directly is impractical. It suggests that any protocol aiming to raise testosterone via kisspeptin would likely need higher or repeated dosing, especially in older individuals, and more research on safer delivery routes is needed.
Summary
Giving a single IV dose of kisspeptin-10 (1 µg per kg body weight) makes the brain release more LH hormone in men of all ages, but only younger adult men see a rise in testosterone. As men get older, their testes become less responsive to the LH boost, so testosterone doesn't go up.
Abstract
The present study was designed to assess the responsiveness of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis to kisspeptin administration with increasing age in men. Human kisspeptin-10 was administered in single iv bolus dose (1 µg/kg BW) to healthy adult, middle and advanced age men. Serial blood samples were collected for 30 min pre- and 120 min post-kisspeptin injection periods at 30-min interval. Analysis of plasma LH by ELISA showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase after kisspeptin-10 administration in all groups, whereas plasma testosterone concentration was significantly elevated (p < 0.05) after kisspeptin-10 injection only in the adult men group. Present results suggest that in men, central hypothalamic-pituitary axis remains active and shows responsiveness to kisspeptin stimulation across life. However, Leydig cell responsiveness to kisspeptin-induced LH decreases with age in men.
Study Information
pubmed
2018
2018-12-27T00:00:00.000Z
10.1111/and.13219
9
43