No abstract

The corpus luteum function of healthy, fertile women was established by measuring the serum progesterone and the early-morning urine pregnanediol-3 alpha-monoglucuronide levels during the ovulation cycles. Integration of the results led to a parameter, the luteal index (Ll), which represents the overall hormone production that characterizes the luteal function quantitatively much better than the criteria used so far. The average of the integrated hormone concentrations (Ll) for progesterone and pregnanediol were 451.4 nmol/l X time and 151.3 mumol/l X time respectively. Statistical analyses show that values of luteal index below 348.9 nmol/l X time progesterone and 134.5 mumol/l X time pregnanediol can be regarded, with very high probability, as symptomatic of luteal dysfunction. The course of the production of both progesterone and pregnanediol is characterized. The importance of these parameters in functional infertility is discussed.

The effect of HCG was examined in 160 infertile patients. The first group of patients (100 men) received 1500 I.U. HCG twice weekly for 8 weeks, the second group (60 men) was given 1500 I.U. HCG twice weekly for 12 weeks. Serum testosterone level was found to be increased after treatment in 44 cases. Improvement was reported on potentia coeundi. The spermiogram improved in 34% of the cases. During the period of treatment 25 wives became pregnant.

It was found by radioimmunoassay that the ethynyl estradiol concentration of the cervical mucus was 8.8 times higher than that of the serum in the first third of the cycle, 14 times higher in the second and 7.3 times higher in the third. The ethynyl estradiol content of the cervical mucus in the middle of the cycle showed a marked increase even when expressed as protein ratio. The accumulation of ethynyl estradiol in the cervical mucus is best demonstrated by the cervical mucus/serum ethynyl estradiol quotient of 9.7 found 12 h after oral administration of the contraceptive Bisecurin®.

Thirty-two infertility patients were studied to evaluate the response of plasma FSH and LH to intravenous injection of 100 pg synthetic LH-RH. Initial LH and FSH levels were taken into consideration in evaluating the responses. While the LH response was usually more pronounced, it seemed more valuable, from the prognostic point of view, to examine the FSH changes because of their applications to the diagnostic and prognostic processes.