A tip of the hat to [USER=39208]@ajax31[/USER] for an interesting link involving GnRH and cognition. It appears that a lack of GnRH contributes to cognitive deficits in Down Syndrome.
[URL unfurl="true"]https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-treatment-improve-congition-down-syndrome[/URL]
In a pilot experiment involving mice with three copies of chromosome 21, a team led by neuroscientist Vincent Prevot of the University of Lille in France found that increasing the levels of GnRH using microRNAs was able to reverse the effects Down syndrome had on the animals' olfactory senses and other cognitive deficits.
Of course, an animal study doesn't prove anything for humans. But a followup experiment involving seven men with Down syndrome who received GnRH from a pump under their skin showed hopeful results as well.
"Six out of seven patients improved their cognitive tests by 20 to 30 percent," Prevot told Scientific American.
"Even more amazing, we saw that functional connectivity was tremendously increased in all seven in cortical areas involved in speech and 3D orientation," Prevot added, noting that the men experienced improvements in verbal comprehension and temporary memory and attention.
See also:
[URL unfurl="true"]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36048943/[/URL]
GnRH thus plays a crucial role in olfaction and cognition, and pulsatile GnRH therapy holds promise to improve cognitive deficits in DS.
Other comments related to the work:
[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/963122[/URL]
Recent research has suggested that olfaction loss and male infertility is also a characteristic of GnRH deficiency, and that GnRH may play a role in higher brain functions, such as cognition.
