Endocrine Abstracts

The aim of the present study was to examine the role of steroid hormones in control of growth and obesity. We have measured plasma level of progesterone (P₄), testosteron (T) and estradiol (E₂) in 301 adolescent girls at different stages of their ovarian cycle, and compared they with standard morphometric indexes of their growth and obesity – body height, body mass, abdomen and hip circumstances and waist to hip ratio (WHR). The ovarian cycle-dependent changes in plasma P₄ and E₂, but not in T level was found. Girls with higher body weight, higher body height, higher abdomen circumstance and higher WHR had significant higher plasma E₂, but not of P₄ or T than subjects with lower expression of these indexes in both follicular an luteal phases of the ovarian cycle. These interrelationships between growth and obesity indexes and plasma E₂ but not of P₄ or T level were confirmed by results of correllation analysis. No association between hip circumstances and hormonal indexes were found. The present observations suggest, i) that luteal phase of the human ovarian cycle is characterised by dramatical increase in both P₄ and E₂, but not in T release, and ii) that in human females both growth and obesity are up-regulated by E₂, but not by P₄ or T.