Physiological role of kisspeptin in delayed puberty
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the physiological hormonal response to kisspeptin in delayed puberty.
IRAS ID
238238
Contact name
Waljit S Dhillo
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Joint Research Compliance Office, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Puberty is the stage of development during which a boy or girl's reproductive axis matures towards adulthood. It starts between the ages of 8 to 13 years in girls and 9 to 14 years in boys. The part of the brain that regulates the onset of puberty is called the 'hypothalamus'. Some children do not enter puberty by the same age as most children (13 years) and this is termed 'delayed puberty'. Most commonly, these children have a normal hypothalamus and will enter puberty spontaneous with time (Constitutional Delay of Growth and Puberty, CDGP). However, a small subset of these children have a genetic disorder causing the hypothalamus to not function normally(Congenital Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism, CHH). These children will not enter puberty without treatment. Currently, doctors do not have a good method of differentiating these two groups of children who require different management.
Over the last 15 years, a naturally occurring hormone called 'kisspeptin' has been shown to play a critical role in regulating the onset of puberty. Kisspeptin acts at the hypothalamus to stimulate the production of reproductive hormones (e.g. luteinising hormone; LH and follicle stimulating hormone; FSH) Kisspeptin is being developed as a novel test of hypothalamic function to differentiate people with normal hypothalamic function from those with abnormal hypothalamic function. Kisspeptin has been given to more than 300 adults with no known side effects reported.(Jayesena, JCI 2014; Dhillo, JCEM 2005). Recently, kisspeptin has been administered to a small number of children in the USA to investigate their hypothalamic function with no reported side effects (Chan, ENDO 2017). We plan to investigate the physiological hormonal response to kisspeptin in children with delayed puberty. Knowledge of the normal physiological hormonal response to kisspeptin will be of great value to the development of diagnostic tests for delayed puberty in future.REC name
London - West London & GTAC Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0043
Date of REC Opinion
30 Jan 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion