SEX-DIFFERENCES IN SENSITIVITY OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS

Two studies examined sex differences in responsiveness of the hypothal amic-pituitary-adrenal cortical axis, a major component of the stress response. The first measured pituitary-adrenal responses to ovine cort icotropin-releasing hormone (oCRH) in 24 healthy men and 19 healthy wo men. Plasma adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) responses to oCRH were significantly greater among women than among men. In contrast, cortiso l concentrations were similar in both groups, though elevations were m ore prolonged in women. Differences in corticotropin-releasing activit y between men and women may help account for these findings; such diff erences in central components of the stress response might play a role in the known epidemiological differences in diseases of stress system dysregulation between men and women.