Serial estimations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH), as well as of oestrogens and pregnanediol have been performed in the urine of 5 women suffering from a variety of gynaecological conditions associated with infertility who were treated with clomiphene citrate at different dose levels.
One subject became pregnant following medication; in the other 4 evidence for ovulation was present in one and was at best equivocal in the remaining 3. The effect of the compound on urinary FSH and LH levels was variable as was the pattern of urinary steroid excretion following medication; in 2 subjects a rise of oestrogen output preceded that of LH excretion. The study confirms previous observations indicating that atypical luteal function may follow clomiphene administration and underlines the fact that wide variations of hormonal response to the compound can occur.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdamopoulosD. A.LoraineJ. A.DoveG. A. (1971a). Endocrinological studies in women approaching the menopause. Journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology of British Commonwealth, 78, 62.
2.
AdamopoulosD. A.LoraineJ. A.GinsburgJ. (1976). Endocrinological findings in two patients with premature ovarian failure. Lancet, 1, 161.
3.
BellE. T.LoraineJ. A.HarknessR. A.FossG. L. (1966). Patterns of hormone excretion in patients treated with clomiphene. Journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology of British Commonwealth, 73, 766.
4.
BrownJ. B.BulbrookR. D.GreenwoodF. C. (1957). An additional purification step for a method for estimating oestriol, oestrone and oestradiol-17α in human urine. Journal of Endocrinology, 16, 49.
5.
GrantA. (1966). The treatment of ovulatory defects with clomiphene. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 6, 327.
6.
GreenblattR. B.ZarateA. T.MaheshV. B. (1968). Other ovulation-inducing agents: Clomiphene and other regimens. In Textbook of Gynecologic Endocrinology, p. 406, edited by GoldJ. J.New York: Hoeber.
7.
HammersteinJ. (1969). Mode of action of clomiphene. Acta Endocrinologica (Kobenhavn), 60, 635.
8.
IgarashiM.IbukiY.KuboH.KamiokaJ.YokotaN.EbaraY.MatsumotoS. (1967). Mode and site of action of clomiphene. American Journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, 97, 120.
9.
JacobsonA.MarshallJ. R.RossG. T.CargilleC. M. (1968). Plasma gonadotrophins during clomiphene induced ovulatory cycles. American Journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, 102, 284.
10.
JaffeR. B.MidgleyA. R. (1970). The radioimmunoassay of gonadotrophins. In Progress in Gynecology, p. 101, edited by SturgisS. H.TaymorM. L.New York: Grune & Stratton.
11.
JonesG. S.MaffezzoliR. D.StrottC. A.RossG. T.KaplanG. (1970). Pathophysiology of reproductive failure after clomiphene-induced ovulation. American Journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, 108, 847.
12.
KlopperA.MichieE. A.BrownJ. B. (1955). A method for the determination of urinary pregnanediol. Journal of Endocrinology, 12, 209.
13.
LoraineJ. A.AdamopoulosJ. A. (1970). Recent studies on the estimation of human pituitary gonadotrophins in urine in clinical conditions. Hormones, 1, 96.
14.
LoraineJ. A.BellE. T. (1971). Hormone Assays and their Clinical Application, 3rd edition p. 603. Edinburgh: Livingstone.
15.
MacgregorA. H.JohnsonJ. E.BundeC. A. (1968). Further clinical experience with clomiphene citrate. Fertility-Sterility, 19, 616.
16.
MishellD. R. (1967). Daily immunoassay of luteinizing hormone excretion in patients receiving clomiphene citrate. Fertility-Sterility, 18, 102.
17.
NewtonJ.DixonP. (1971). Site of action of clomiphene and its use as a test of pituitary function. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Commonwealth, 78, 812.
18.
Osmond-ClarkeF.MurrayM.BishopP. M. F. (1968). The induction of ovulation with clomiphene and its assessment by biological methods. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Commonwealth, 75, 531.
19.
PapanicolaouA. D.LoraineJ. A.LunnS. F. (1970). Studies on the mechanism of action of clomiphene in women with secondary amenorrhoea. In Reproductive Endocrinology, edited by IrvineW. J.Edinburgh: Livingstone.
20.
ParlowA. F. (1958). A rapid bioassay method for LH and factors stimulating LH secretion. Federation Proceedings, 17, 402.
21.
RossG. T.CargilleC. M.LipsettM. B.RayfordP. L.MarshallJ. R.StrottC. A.RodbardD. (1970). Pituitary and gonadal hormones in women during spontaneous and induced ovulatory cycles. Recent Progress in Hormone Research, 26, 1.
22.
SmithO. W. (1966). The effect of clomid on estrogen secretion and metabolism. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 94, 440.
23.
SteelmanS. L.PohleyF. M. (1953). Assay of the follicle-stimulating hormone based on the augmentation with human chorionic gonadotrophin, Endocrinology, 53, 604.
24.
VaitukaitisJ. L.BermedezJ. A.CargilleC. M.LipsettM. B.RossG. T. (1971). New evidence for an anti-estrogenic action of clomiphene citrate in women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 32, 503.
25.
YenS. S. G.VelaP.RyanK. J. (1970). Effect of clomiphene citrate in polycystic ovary syndrome: Relationship between serum gonadotrophin and corpus luteum function. Journal Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 31, 7.
