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Previous Volume 357:929-932 August 30, 2007 Number 9 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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In an extraordinary display of nature's myriad intricacies, in higher mammals the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulse generator, which drives the pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin and sex steroids, is kept in abeyance until the onset of puberty, when it is reactivated with remarkable predictability during the pubertal transition. Its role in this transition is to promote sexual maturation in synchrony with somatic growth and maturation of sexual and social behaviors. In an earlier era, when most humans died before their 25th birthday, food availability was precarious, and environmental conditions were unpredictable, failure of the reproductive axis to activate in a timely . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

From the Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition at Boston Medical Center and the Boston University School of Medicine — both in Boston.

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