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The effects of lisuride (Schering) and bromocriptine (Parlodel, Sandoz), two dopaminergic drugs, on the inhibition of puerperal lactation were compared in a double-blind study. At the dosages selected, lisuride was as effective as bromocriptine for the inhibition of lactation but bromocriptine was more effective in lowering serum prolactin levels.

21 women with menopausal disorders were given veralipride, which is a benzamide derivative having a central anti-dopaminergic action. The LH, FSH and PRL plasma levels were controlled before and after treatment. Treatment, using veralipride at a daily dose of 100 mg for 20 days, improved the climacteric syndrome, and, in particular, the sudden hot flushes. The FSH plasma levels remained unchanged, the LH levels were reduced, although they remained high, and the PRL levels increased during the course of the treatment.

Fenticonazole vaginal ovules of 200 mg, 600 mg and 1,000 mg were administered to 42 women prior to gynecological surgery. Tissue concentrations in the vaginal mucosa were determined after 3 h and 12 h in biopsy specimens taken from the same position in the posterior fornix. Tissue concentrations were higher at 3 h in comparison to 12 h with all 3 doses. There was no statistical difference between the concentrations yielded by the 3 different ovules at 3 h, while after 12 h the concentrations were dose-dependent and significantly higher after 1,000 mg in comparison to 200 mg, but not to 600 mg.

Intravenous injections of 50 mg dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) were given to 7 women with normal pregnancies and 5 with pathologic pregnancies and the serum levels of 17 beta-estradiol and estetrol were assayed before and at 15 or 30-minute intervals for three hours after the injection. All tests were carried out during the 25th to 36th week of amenorrhea. Serum estradiol rose rapidly in normal subjects and remained high to the end of the test. In patients with gestational pathology the estradiol pattern was not significantly different from that of the controls. Esterol plasma levels showed a biphasic pattern with an initial rise at 30 min. and a second rise at 90 min. in normal pregnancies, whereas in pathologic pregnancies this response was either lacking completely or was markedly reduced compared to the controls.

A new semisynthetic ergot derivative, Lisuride, has been administered to 40 women who wanted to have lactation inhibited. Purpose of the study was to evaluate the drug's effect on serum PRL levels. Treatment was carried out for 7 days with daily doses of 300 or 600 microgram. Lisuride lowered PRL levels, and the decrease was significantly more marked for the 600 microgram dose.

The incidence of ectopic pregnancy has been steadily growing during the past decade; this fact can only partially be related to known factors (PID, use of IUDs, minipill, inductors of ovulation, sterilization reversal). Ectopic pregnancy is still a frequently misdiagnosed pathology; nevertheless, the recent advances in early diagnosis have allowed a decrease in the mortality rate and an improvement in subsequent fertility. In absence of obvious tubal abnormalities it is difficult to assess the cause of an ectopic implantation. Yet the factors regulating and nidation of the embryo in the human are far from clear. The transport of the embryo in the oviductal fluid depends on ciliary beat (generally regarded as the leading factor) and on muscle contractions mainly in the ampullary-isthmic and in the utero-tubal junction, where a sphincter action is stimulated by estrogens and relaxed by progesterone. Other substances (catecholamines, prostaglandins, oxytocin) are thought to be involved in ovum transport, although their role is unclear. Even less is known about local influence of the embryo on the oviduct. During preimplantation and implantation both the embryo and the mother engage in an elaborate interaction, elsewhere referred to as a 'conversation', involving long-and short-range signals. An essential role is played by the endocrine luminal milieu. A local action of estrogens on a progesterone-primed endometrium may be required for either the release of crucial signals for the blastocyst activation, or to make epithelial cells sensitive to the presence of the embryo, thus inducing the decidualization. In some animals, these estrogens are not ovarian, but synthesized by the blastocyst itself.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The circadian profiles of LH, FSH, estradiol and progesterone were compared in a homogeneous group of 15 young normally cycling women, at 4 well characterized times of the menstrual cycle: early follicular (EF), late follicular (LF), early luteal (EL) and late luteal (LL) stages. The circatrigintan profiles of the same hormones were also evaluated. Population-mean cosinor analysis failed to demonstrate a circadian periodicity of LH in any of the 4 stages of the menstrual cycle; a circadian rhythm for FSH was present only in the 2 luteal phases (EL, LL); the same type of rhythmicity was present for estradiol only in the late luteal stage; on the contrary, a highly significant circadian rhythm of progesterone was present in each of the 4 menstrual stages considered (EF, LF, EL and LL). Population-mean cosinor analysis showed a highly significant circatrigintan periodicity of LH and FSH with the acrophases respectively between -109 degrees and -181 degrees and between -74 degrees and -125 degrees. Circatrigintan rhythmicity was also present for estradiol (acrophases between -161 degrees and -245 degrees) and progesterone (acrophases between -246 degrees and -296 degrees).

Terguride, is an 8 - alpha - ergoline derived from lisuride, acts as a partial dopamine (DA) agonist. The effect and tolerance of terguride has been investigated by an acute administration of 0.2 mg p.o. to 8 normal women, 8 patients with hyperprolactinaemia and 8 women with puerperal hyperprolactinaemia. Prolactin (PRL) levels were markedly suppressed in all subjects, with no significant differences between the groups. Treatment for 5 days with terguride 0.4 mg/day or 0.8 mg/day was studied as an inhibitor of lactation. PRL levels were suppressed in a dose-related manner. No untoward side-effects were noted.