[Analysis of noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin levels in follicular fluid following superovulatory treatment].

The authors measured the noradrenaline (NA), serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) content of 47 normally maturated and 16 cystically degenerated follicular fluid samples obtained from patients involved in the in vitro fertilisation and gamete transfer program. The patients were given human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) as a superovulation treatment, and they were given 7500 IE human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) to induce ovulation 34-36 hours prior to the follicular puncture done by laparoscope. The NA content of the normally developed preovular follicles is 11.4 +/- 8.4 micrograms/100 ml on average. For the cystically degenerated follicles the data are following: 1.1 +/- 0.7 micrograms/100 ml (p less than 0.001). 5--HT and DA for the preovulatory follicles are 14.3 +/- 8.9 micrograms/100 ml and 19.3 +/- 8.2 micrograms/100 ml respectively; at the same time for the cystically degenerated follicles they are 12.2 +/- 6.2 micrograms/100 ml, and 12.7 +/- 6.8 micrograms/100 ml respectively. They presume that the higher amount of NA in the follicular fluid might play an important role in the mechanisms of ovulation, the regulation of postovulatory tubal motility, and the release of progesterone from granulosa cells.