Human Reproduction, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 478-485, 1996
© 1996 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Circulating immunoreactive and bioactive follicle stimulating hormone concentrations in anovulatory infertile women and during gonadotrophin induction of ovulation using a decremental dose regimen
1 Section of Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dijkzigt Academic Hospital and Erasmus University, Dr. Molewaterplein 40 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands 2 Department of Medicine, Veterans Administration Medical Center Seattle, WA 98108, USA
Correspondence: 3To whom correspondence should be addressed
Our purpose was to determine whether decreased follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) activity, either systemic or at the follicular level, is involved in impaired follicle growth associated with normogonadotrophic anovulation. To differentiate between the possible levels of disturbance, bioactive (BIO-FSH; using the in-vitro rat granulosa cell aromatase bioassay) and immunoreactive (IRMA-FSH) FSH serum concentrations of three groups of subjects were compared: (i) 172 normogonadotrophic anovulatory infertile women during baseline conditions, (ii) 22 clomi-phene-resistant polycystic ovary syndrome patients undergoing ovulation induction by exogenous gonadotrophins using a decremental dose regimen, and (iii) nine regularly cycling controls. BIO-FSH [13.2 (range 0.8–29.5) IU/1] and IRMA-FSH [4.4 (range 1.2–9.3) IU/1] concentrations in anovulatory women during baseline conditions were significantly lower than maximum concentrations reached during the follicular phase in controls [18.7 (13.2–23.4) and 6.4 (5.7–10.0) IU/1 respectively], but were not significantly different from initial concentrations in controls [10.4 (7.2–19.6) and 4.8 (2.8–8.2) IU/1 respectively]. Moreover, concentrations of IRMA-FSH and BIO-FSH were negatively correlated (r = –0.25, P = 0.01, and r = –0.24, P = 0.02 respectively) with the interval between last vaginal bleeding and blood sampling. Maximum concentrations of IRMA-FSH [7.6 (3.9–10.9) IU/1] during ovulation induction by gonadotrophins were not significantly different from [6.4 (5.7–10.0) IU/1] concentrations in controls, whereas maximum BIO-FSH concentrations [13.5 (8.7–17.4) versus 18.7 (13.2–23.4) IU/1] were significantly lower. Our findings suggest that (i) circulating FSH does not reach concentrations that are sufficient to induce normal follicle development in anovulatory women during base-line conditions, and (ii) the FSH threshold for ovarian stimulation of this patient group is not different from normal
Key words: anovulation/FSH/gonadotrophins/hyperandro-genemia/polycystic ovary syndrome
4Present address: Department of Gynaecology, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
5Present address: Precise Diagnostics, Inc., Madison, WI 53711, USA
Submitted on August 21, 1995; accepted on October 16, 1995.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  The Thessaloniki ESHRE/ASRM-Sponsored PCOS Consens Consensus on infertility treatment related to polycystic ovary syndrome Hum. Reprod., March 1, 2008; 23(3): 462 - 477. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Jonard and D. Dewailly The follicular excess in polycystic ovaries, due to intra-ovarian hyperandrogenism, may be the main culprit for the follicular arrest Hum. Reprod. Update, March 1, 2004; 10(2): 107 - 117. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|