Serum testosterone, androstenedione and luteinizing hormone levels after short‐term medroxyprogesterone acetate treatment in women with polycystic ovarian disease

Background. Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) ‐treatment suppresses serum gonadotropin and androgen concentrations in women with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD). This study ws designed to determine serum testosterone (T), androstenedione (A) and luteinizing hormone (LH) patterns in a group of oligomenorrheic PCOD patients after MPA‐treatment. Methods. The study group consisted of 11 women with ultrasonographically diagnosed PCOD. Blood samples were drawn in the morning in fasting conditions first during oligomenorrhea and then within one week after MPA‐induced bleeding. After that the sampling was repealed four times at one week intervals. Student's paired t‐test was used for statistical calculations. Results. The levels of T, A and LH decreased significantly after MPA‐treatment. During the follow‐up the T and A concentrations increased significantly till the third sampling week, after which no further increases were found. Conclusions. Our results show that T and A secretion return to levels characteristic of PCOD after discontinuation of MPA‐treatment within a few weeks in women with PCOD. 1994 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted