title: Prospective studies of the gonadotropin responses to graded injections of gonadotopin-releasing factor in women using a low-estrogen type oral contraceptive for three months.
abstract: A prospective study of pituitary gonadotropin response to gonadotropin-releasing factor (GnRF) was made in women before and after 3 months of use of a low-estrogen type oral contraceptive containing 0.035 mg of ethinylestradiol and 0.4 mg of norethindrone. A series of three intravenous GnRF injections (0.5, 5.0, and 50.0 micrograms) was given in each test and 10 blood samples were obtained and analyzed for their luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) content by radioimmunoassay. The results show that there was no significant effect of the contraceptive steroids on either basal or stimulatable FSH or LH levels. These data are different from those for higher-estrogen types of oral contraceptives, and the possible clinical importance of these findings is discussed.
mesh_terms: D003276:Contraceptives, Oral / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003280:Contraceptives, Oral, Synthetic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D009640:Norethindrone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D010906:Pituitary Hormone-Releasing Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D003276:Contraceptives, Oral; D003280:Contraceptives, Oral, Synthetic; D004338:Drug Combinations; D010906:Pituitary Hormone-Releasing Hormones; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone; D009640:Norethindrone