The GnRH hormone, a new avenue of treatment in trisomy 21

It’s a very small hormone, five times less massive than insulin, but with great effects. The pituitary gonadotropin releasing hormone, also called gonadotropin releasing hormone or GnRH, is known as the conductor of puberty and reproduction in humans, as in all vertebrates. GnRH is secreted in the brain by a handful of neurons. Could this hormone be involved in functions other than reproduction? This is the question that a team of French scientists tried to answer. In a mouse model used to study trisomy 21, researchers showed that GnRH improved memory function and olfaction. What give the idea to scientists at the CHUV to test the injection of GnRH in people with trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome. The preliminary results, published Thursday in the magazine Scienceare rather encouraging despite some limitations.