Showing papers in "International Journal of Fertility in 1967"

Variation of the human menstrual cycle through reproductive life.

Abstract: 30 years of data directed to the study of the temporal characteristics of the human menstrual cycle and some of its associated phenomena are presented. Approximately 2700 record-keeping collaborators and their daughters were enrolled. Only records of greater than 6 months uninterrupted recording are included. A record of all surgery illness or medication which might influence menstruation was recorded as well. Age of the patient and age since menarche are recorded. By 1961 this study had accumulated 25825 person-years of menstrual experience with 2750 intervening pregnancies. Justification of the belief that women normally vary in menstrual interval around a value of 28 days was unsupported. Each woman has her own central trend and variation which changes with age. The menstrual interval should be expected to average within a few days of 28 when assembled in large groups. Variation as opposed to regularlity is the rule in the menstrual cycle. The early and late years of menstrual life have the greatest variation in pattern of both long and short cycles and tend to mirror each other. The middle years of menstruation is characterized by linear change in both central tendency and variation; falling 2-3 days in this age span. Variation in menstrual cycle reaches its minimum at around 36 years of age. Determining the pattern of variation in menstrual history for anticipated intervals needs further study. The practice of birth control through the use of rhythm methods alone must introduce elements of uncertainty which are serious problems.

Long cycles, late ovulation, and calendar rhythm.

Abstract: The basic relations between calendar rhythm and menstrual variation in a statistical orientation and in a perspective assessing requirements for a perfectly effective rhythm formula are reviewed. The empirical ju stifications of assumptions made about menstrual variation are also revi ewed. The normal distribution does not furnish a realistic model of cycle variation. The average cycle standard deviation of adult women is probably less than 3 days and the postovulatory phase is variable. The existence of occasional long cycles with late ovulation undermines any claim that calendar rhythm can provide absolute protection. Temperature rhythm to determine ovulation was designed to meet this problem of late ovulations. The effectiveness of calendar rhythm depends not only on the particular rhythm but also on the menstrual variabilites of the wome n using it.

Differentiation of sex as determined by ovulation timing.

Abstract: A method for determining the time of ovulation in humans for the purpose of aritificial insemination and for predicting sex by the Kleegman theory is presented. 85 women were inseminated and all successfully conceived and delivered with 1 insemination. 66 women were inseminated on the final day of thin cervical mucorrhea 12 were inseminated in the early mucorrhea phase and 7 were inseminated 1 day after the end of the thin mucorrhea phase. Cervical mucorrhea and spinnbarkeit were important indicators in determining the time of ovulation. The predicted sex and actual sex of the infants correlated in 40 patients. It was concluded that the prediction of ovulation in the 85 cases was precise though the Kleegman theory of sex determination was not supported.

Prostaglandins in human seminal plasma and their effects on human myometrium.

Abstract: 13 prostaglandins have been identified in seminal fluid. The concentration of the compounds can be determined separately in single samples of semen. A method for the determinaton of the 3 PGE compounds and the 2 PGF compounds was recently published. The method included extraction and group separation of the PGE and PGF compounds on silicic acid columns. Further separation of the PGE compounds was achieved by thin-layer chromatography and the amount of each compound was determined by measuring its ultraviolet absorption after treatment with alkali. The concentration found in semen from men with apparently normal fertility is illustrated in table form. All of the different prostaglandins found in semen influenced the motility of human myometrium in vitro. Either human semen or a crude extract of it inhibited the motility. In many cases the 2 PGF compounds stimulated the motility of isolated myometrium. The sensitivity of the myometrium to the different prostaglandins was quite varied. In order to evaluate the importance of each prostaglandin compound for the effect on the myometrium in vitro of the mixture of them found in semen both concentration and sensibility had to be considered. The 3 PGE compounds contributed substantially to the inhibitory effect.

Ovulation in the post partum period.

Abstract: 626 endometrial biopsies obtained from 285 women from the 5th day postpartum (counting the day of delivery as day 1) to the 9th month after parturition were studied in order to learn more about the ovario-uterine relationship. For the detection of ovulation only those biopsies which were found to have been done within 10 days preceding a menstrual period were considered. A total of 185 biopsies in 82 patients fell into this category. A single premenstrual biopsy was performed in 49 cases and from 2 to 10 premenstrual biopsies were perormed in 33 cases. In an effort to find early secretory patterns it was decided to study an additional series of 100 unselected consecutive normal patients by endometrial biopsies on the 42nd and 49th days postpartum. Neither age nor parity seemed to play a part in determining the endometrial pattern in the premenstrual series. No case in the series was found ovular before the 7th week. In the unselected patients who were examined on the last day of the 6th and 7th weeks it was found that ovular specimens were not obtained until the 7th week. The earliest date at which a secretory pattern was obtained was from a patient on the 44th day. The earliest ovulation of which there was presumptive evidence probably occurred on about the 42nd day postpartum. In the majority of women taking the oral contraceptive could probably be safely postponed until the 6th week following delivery.

Potency of quinestrol as reflected by vaginal cytologic maturation.

Abstract: The maturation index was used to monitor the effects of oral adminis tration of quinestrol on the vaginal epithelium of postmenopausal patients. Modification of the Meisel estrogen value index was used to assign a single numerical value to each smear. However no distinction was made as to color or intermediate size. There were 19 episodes of evaluation in 17 postmenopausal patients. Some had had hysterectomy some also bilateral oophorectomy all had atrophic vaginal epithelium. Estrogen value indices were all less than 50 which is the upper threshold for estrogen deficiency. Pretreatment vaginal smears showed indices of 21/79/0 to 100/0/0. Liver function tests were normal after treatment. Quinestrol was administered orally in several different schedules. There was little difference in response following 25 or 50 mcg quinestrol per day. A good estrogen response followed 10 days of such administration. Patients who received 100 mcg in a single dose showed a similar response in 7 days. In 1 patient the pretreatment estrogen value of 0 increased to more than 60 following 4 days of quinestrol administration. Superficial cells were 30% by Day 15 with 25 and 50 mcg per day and parabasal cells almost disappeared by 7-10 days. The parabasal cells persisted longer with the 100 mcg dose. No side effects were noted.

Effect of quinestrol on the coagulation mechanism.

Abstract: The tests in this study evaluated all coagulation factors except platelet factor 3; the one-stage prothrombin assay and the activated partial thromboplastin assay were performed on subjects receiving 150 mg Quinestrol daily for up to 52 weeks. All of the "times" were within an accepted range for frozen oxalated plasma.