Cycle In Healthy Women Research Articles

Insulin Sensitivity and Sex Steroid Hormone Levels during the Menstrual Cycle in Healthy Women with Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetic Parents

Objective: To identify the effect of the menstrual cycle and sex steroid hormone levels on insulin sensitivity in healthy women with non-insulin-dependent diabetic parents. Methods: A clinical trial was realized in 6 healthy women with non-insulin-dependent diabetic parents and in 6 control subjects. In both phases of the menstrual cycle the following tests were made: insulin tolerance test, metabolic profile, and sex steroid hormone levels. Results: Insulin sensitivity was significantly lower in the follicular (p = 0.004) and luteal (p = 0.01) phases of the menstrual cycle in probands compared with controls. In the luteal phase dehydroepiandrosterone was higher in probands than in controls (p = 0.009). Conclusions: Healthy women with non-insulin-dependent diabetic parents had a lower insulin sensitivity in both phases of the menstrual cycle compared with the control group. Dehydroepiandrosterone was higher in the luteal phase in probands than controls.

Changes in atherogenic lipids and lipoproteins during natural and hyperstimulated cycles in healthy women

Objective: To compare changes in the concentrations of Lp(a) lipoprotein and other atherogenic lipids and lipoproteins in natural and hyperstimulated ovarian cycles. Design: Open, prospective study. Setting: Academic department in a teaching hospital. Patient(s): Normal ovulatory women served as controls and the treatment group consisted of women undergoing ovarian hyperstimulation. Intervention(s): The treatment group received hMG on a fixed regimen. Main Outcome Measure(s): Measurements of serum lipids and lipoproteins were made in both natural and hyperstimulated cycles. Result(s): There was a significant increase in the median concentration of Lp(a) lipoprotein from 10.1 to 10.7 mg/dL in the luteal compared with the proliferative phase of unstimulated cycles. In hyperstimulated cycles, there was a significant increase in the median concentration of Lp(a) lipoprotein from 9.7 mg/dL in the proliferative phase to 11.3 mg/dL in the luteal phase. Reductions in concentrations of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were found in the luteal phase of hyperstimulated cycles. Conclusion: Concentrations of Lp(a) lipoprotein increase during the luteal phase of both natural and hyperstimulated ovarian cycles.

Variability of gastrointestinal transit in healthy women and men.

Measurements of gastrointestinal transit are made in clinical and research gastroenterology, yet their intrinsic variability is not well characterised. In particular, an influence of hormones on transit has been proposed as the basis for gastrointestinal symptoms that vary with the menstrual cycle. Our aims were to quantify individual differences in transit during the menstrual cycle in healthy women and to compare these with the intrinsic variability in healthy men. On two occasions, whole gut transit was assessed scintigraphically and colonic transit quantified by radio-opaque markers. Thirty two healthy volunteers (12 women, 20 men) were studied, women during the follicular and luteal phases, men twice within a similar four week period. Diets and exercise were standardised prior to and during both studies. Colonic transit was significantly faster in men, and postlag gastric emptying was also more rapid; other indices of regional transit were not different between the sexes. Total colonic transit time was equally well reflected by the scintigraphic and radio-opaque marker methods. Important intraindividual differences were noted in both sexes. The variances in our samples predicted an 80% chance of detecting (with 95% confidence) a mean effect of menstrual hormones on transit that was in the same range as the intrinsic variation in men. Colonic transit was faster in men than in women. Although group means in the two studies were almost identical, single assessments of transit in subjects sometimes exhibited considerable variability, implying broad biological variations. Given this intrinsic variability, the influence of menstrual hormones on gastrointestinal transit must be small and of doubtful clinical significance.

Plasma homovanillic acid profile at different phases of the ovulatory cycle in healthy women

Variation in some central monoamine levels has been shown to be influenced by cyclical changes in gonadal hormones in women; however, there is less consensus about how the human menstrual cycle affects turnover of dopamine. Fluctuations in plasma homovanillic acid (HVA) are thought to represent changes in central dopamine turnover and activity and, some suggest, may be used to monitor the response to neuroleptic medication or to predict those more likely to respond to antipsychotic treatment. We have measured the effect of fluctuations in gonadal hormones on the level of plasma HVA at four consecutive points across the menstrual cycles of 30 healthy volunteers. We found no significant change in plasma HVA over the cycle and there was no correlation with either estradiol or progesterone levels. This study suggests that peripheral markers of central dopamine function do not change significantly with physiological changes in gonadal hormones levels.

Nasal congestion during the menstrual cycle

Oestrogens have been considered to cause nasal congestion during the menstrual cycle and during pregnancy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the degree of nasal congestion during the menstrual cycle in healthy women. Nasal peak expiratory flow (nPEF) was measured and subjective nasal stuffiness was scored morning and evening by 27 women for 3 months and by 14 women for 6 months. During the menstrual days, when the serum oestrogen level is lowest, the morning nPEFs were significantly lower compared with the rest of the cycle (P = 0.0012). The difference was most pronounced for the second day of the cycle (P = 0.00034). The correlation between nPEFs and the subjective scores was high (R = 0.98), while the coefficient of variation within the series of three nPEF recordings was low (6.4%). It is concluded that the nasal obstruction experienced during menstruation cannot be explained by increased serum levels of oestrogen.

Immunohistochemical investigations of steroid receptors in normal and neoplastic squamous epithelium of the uterine cervix

The proliferation of squamous cells of the vagina and cervix uteri is induced by steroid hormones during the menstrual cycle. However, carcinoma of the cervix cannot be influenced by any hormone therapy. Forty-four different cervical specimens (different days in the menstrual cycle of healthy women and those with dysplastic lesions and carcinomas of the cervix) have been tested for estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptor protein content by means of immunohistochemistry. The ER content of the squamous epithelium depends upon the menstrual cycle: in the early proliferative phase cells of all layers are negative. In the midphase of proliferation the basal and parabasal layers become positive, and in the secretory phase positive cell nuclei can be found up to the superficial layers. A weak reaction to ER staining is found only in mild dysplastic lesions of the uterine cervix; severe dysplastic forms and invasive carcinomas were all negative. No positive PR was found in any squamous cell tissue. Stroma cells of the uterine cervix showed different straining intensity for ER and PR, regardless of the menstrual cycle. The loss of ER in the neoplastic cell could be an explanation for three clinical experiences: premenopausal patients have no tumor progression of the cervix uteri despite normal ovarian function; the duration of survival shows no relation to the receptor status of cervical carcinomas; and antihormonal treatment of cervical carcinomas produces no appreciable therapeutic success.

Microheterogeneity of α1-acid glycoprotein: variation during the menstrual cycle in healthy women, and profile in women receiving estrogen-progestogen treatment

The concentration of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) was measured in sera from 23 women, 14 pregnant women, 10 women receiving estrogen-progestogen treatment and 12 men. All sera were further subjected to crossed affino-immunoelectrophoresis with addition of conA in the first dimension and alpha-methylglucopyranoside in the second dimension. The distribution of AGP into three microheterogeneity forms, which were the result of this analysis, was estimated by measuring the area under the precipitation curve. The microheterogeneity patterns of AGP in the five groups were analysed from each other. An augmentation of the non reactive form is seen in women in the first part of the cycle and in women receiving estrogen-progestogen treatment compared with the three others groups. The pattern obtained in this latter group is similar to that observed in pregnant women (34 weeks) by several authors.

Association between hormonal and haemorheological changes during the menstrual cycle in healthy women.

Blood rheology was studied in 15 healthy women throughout a normal menstrual cycle. Significant increases in fibrinogen, blood and plasma viscosity, and a reduction of erythrocyte filtrability were demonstrated during the follicular and ovulatory phase in comparison with mid- and late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Positive correlations were found between oestradiol levels and the haemorheological variables. Our data suggest that ovarian hormonal activity influences haemorheology and blood flow in healthy women.

Acute Acetylsalicylic Acid (Low Dose) Potentiation Of The Dihydroergotamine - Induced B-Endorphin Release; Studies During The Luteal Phase Of The Menstrual Cycle In Healthy Women

Acute Acetylsalicylic Acid (Low Dose) Potentiation Of The Dihydroergotamine - Induced B-Endorphin Release; Studies During The Luteal Phase Of The Menstrual Cycle In Healthy Women

Evidence of cyclic alterations of thyroid size during the menstrual cycle in healthy women

Serum levels of thyroxine, triiodothyronine, triiodothyronine resin uptake, thyroxine-binding globulin, thyrotropin, and ultrasonically determined thyroid gland volume were investigated weekly in 11 healthy women during a normal menstrual cycle, and in five healthy men once a week for 5 consecutive weeks. In the men the thyroid volume was unaltered. In the women, however, a mean variation in thyroid volume of approximately 50% between minimum values (15.4 ± 3.1 ml, day 9) and maximum values (24.4 ± 4.8 ml, day 23) was found (p < 0.01), although no significant differences in the other thyroid variables could be demonstrated. The menstrual cycle seems to be associated with cyclic alterations of thyroid size in healthy women unexplained by alterations in thyroid function variables. This information should be taken into account when goiter frequency, goitrogenic action of drugs, and goiter treatment effects are evaluated.

Studies of glucose tolerance, insulin and growth hormone secretion during the menstrual cycle in healthy women.

ORAL glucose tolerance tests were performed at regular intervals during the menstrual cycle in 33 healthy women. When the results were adjusted for the point in cycle at which the tests were done, minor variations in glucose tolerance were observed during the cycle. At no stage was a diabetic glucose tolerance test encountered. A small variation in serum insulin levels was noted also. Growth hormone levels did not vary significantly. The most striking feature of the study was the high incidence of low blood sugar levels found at 90 to 120 minutes after glucose ingestion.

A study of the metabolism of single therapeutic dose (2.0 mg.) of estrone in the preovulatory and postovulatory phases of the menstrual cycle in healthy women.

ZONDEK'S demonstration in 1934 (1) of the tremendous capacity of the rat to inactivate the natural estrogens has focused attention on the intermediary metabolism of these hormones. Treatment and recovery experiments in man (2–5) have revealed that, regardless of sex, only from 0 to 20 per cent of the administered hormone can be recovered from the urine in recognizable forms and that α-estradiol⇄estrone→estriol conversion appears to characterize one phase of this catabolic process. Although interest recently has centered on the role of the liver in estrogen metabolism, other organs in the intact animal have not been excluded. In fact, in clinical endocrinology the view is often expressed (6–12) that progesterone, acting through the endometrium of the uterus, converts estrone to estriol and thereby exerts a sparing action on the destruction of the estrogens. Thus an elevated recovery of exogenous urinary estrogens and a high ratio of estriol to estrone should characterize the progestational phase of the men...