Abstract
Abstract
Concentrations of circulating FSH and LH were determined serially during the first year of life in chimpanzees and rhesus monkeys. FSH levels rose soon after birth and subsequently declined to baseline during the first year in both species, but the magnitude and duration of the FSH peak was less in the monkey. In both species during the first 6 months after birth, FSH levels were significantly higher in females than males. LH levels tended to parallel the FSH pattern in the infant chimpanzees but the greatest postnatal rise was found in males rather than in females. In rhesus monkeys, immunoreactive LH levels remained constant in both sexes during the first year of life. These results support the hypothesis that important developmental endocrine changes occur during infancy in primates. The relationship of these events to later reproductive development and to the “normality” of adult reproductive function remains to be established.
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