Prospective evaluation of renal artery resistance and pulsatility indices in normal pregnant women

OBJECTIVES

To establish normal values for renal artery resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) during gestation and, by comparison with non-pregnant controls, to determine if pregnancy affects these indices.

METHODS

This was a prospective longitudinal study involving 36 normal pregnant women who underwent a total of 280 examinations at 4-week intervals from the 6th gestational week to the end of pregnancy. High-resolution ultrasound equipment with 'triplex' Doppler facilities was used. RI and PI were obtained for the main arteries of both kidneys. The same evaluation was performed in 15 non-pregnant women as controls.

RESULTS

The mean RI in pregnant and non-pregnant women was the same (0.65 +/- 0.03 for controls and 0.65 +/- 0.02 for the pregnant women). For PI, the values were 1.25 +/- 0.12 for non-pregnant women and 1.18 +/- 0.09 for pregnant women. The only statistical difference (P < 0.05) was found between the PI of the left renal artery in the control group (1.29 +/- 0.20) and that in the pregnant group at the 8-12-week interval of gestational age (1.08 +/- 0.14).

CONCLUSIONS

No significant alterations in renal artery RI and PI occur during normal pregnancy, except for in a subgroup of patients between 8 and 12 weeks of gestation.

Effect of transitory hyperprolactinemia on in vitro fertilization of human oocytes

OBJECTIVE

To examine the changes in plasma prolactin (PRL) during ovarian hyperstimulation (OH) and the influence of hyperprolactinemia on folliculogenesis, oocyte retrieval and in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates and the usefulness of the metoclopramide (MCP) test in predicting the onset of hyperprolactinemia.

STUDY DESIGN

Forty-nine cycles of OH were induced in 32 infertile women using follicle-stimulating hormone, human menopausal gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin (GI) (n = 36), also in association with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GII) (n = 13). The MCP test (10 mg, intravenously) was performed on fertile control women (control group, n = 9) and in GI (n = 21) and GII (n = 8) patients.

RESULTS

Plasma PRL and estradiol levels increased during OH, reaching maximum levels on the day preceding oocyte retrieval in GI and GII. Since these two groups exhibited similar PRL curves, they were evaluated as a single group. Patients showing an increase in PRL of > 200% presented a greater number of follicles with a mean diameter > or = 12 mm and more mature oocytes and better IVF success rates than patients with a PRL increase < or = 200%. Oocyte retrieval did not differ between the groups. The MCP test showed hyperresponsiveness in the three groups studied, but no correlation was found between the PRL increase in this test and that during OH.

CONCLUSION

Plasma PRL and estradiol levels increase during OH, while the MCP test cannot predict the onset of hyperprolactinemia. Transitory hyperprolactinemia seems to be associated with an increase in the numbers of follicles with a mean diameter > or = 12 mm and with more mature oocytes and better IVF success rates.

Induction of ovulation with clomiphene citrate in combination with metoclopramide in patients with amenorrhea of hypothalamic origin

Literature data have demonstrated that the chronic use of metoclopramide (MCP), a dopamine antagonist, causes increased gonadotropin secretion in patients with hypothalamic amenorrhea but without triggering ovulation. It has also been observed that women with hypothalamic amenorrhea respond poorly to ovulation induction with clomiphene citrate (CC). On this basis, the objective of the present study was to determine the effect of MCP on the response to CC in patients with hypothalamic amenorrhea in order to evaluate the validity of the simultaneous use of these drugs as ovulation inducers in this type of chronic anovulation. Twenty-two patients with amenorrhea of hypothalamic origin were submitted to a randomized double blind study in which one tablet of 5 mg MCP or placebo was administered every 8 hours for 2 months. After the 30th day of medication (MCP or placebo), CC, 100 mg orally, was additionally administered to both groups for 5 days. Blood samples were collected on days 1, 15 and 30 during the first month of the study and on days 7, 14 and 21 after the last CC tablet during the second month, for later measurement of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin, estradiol and progesterone by radioimmunoassay. The group that received MCP showed a significant increase in LH and FSH during the first month of the study, as well as a slighter increase in estradiol. Prolactin increased only during the second stage of treatment. No significant increases in gonadotropins, prolactin or estradiol occurred in the placebo group. In the group treated with MCP, 40% of the patients ovulated after CC, with menstruation occurring in 60% of them. In the placebo group, 33.3% of the women ovulated after CC and 44.4% menstruated at the end of the study. We conclude that MCP increases the circulating levels of LH, FSH, estradiol and prolactin in patients with hypothalamic amenorrhea and low estrogen levels, supporting the hypothesis that an increase in hypothalamic dopaminergic tonus occurs in these patients. On the other hand, the combination of MCP and CC does not improve the rate of ovulation compared to placebo.