Response of the nonpregnant uterus to vasopressin as an index of ovarian function

Abstract

Investigations conducted with a sample of 89 normal menstruating women demonstrated that there is a relationship between phase of the menstrual cycle and uterine response to vasopressin. A positive response was detected during menstruation which became progressively less intense during the proliferative phase and shifted successively from absent to negative at midcycle. At the beginning of the secretory phase the negative response reverted to positive. Estrogen administration served to block this negative to positive change. Tests performed with menopausal women and an oophorectomized patient, for whom artificial cycles were produced, showed that estrogen allowed for the negative response to vasopressin and that progesterone domination was prerequisite for the shift from negative to positive response. The potential uses of the vasopressin response to evaluate ovarian function and to detect ovulation have been discussed. Comparative study with oxytocin indicated that either estrogen or estrogen plus progesterone is instrumental in producing a block to the effect of this oxytocic. The response to oxytocin was absent in the late proliferative phase and the early secretory phase, precluding the use of this hormone as a test for detecting ovulation.