Measurements of urinary prostaglandins in young ovulatory women during the menstrual cycle and in postmenopausal women

The purpose of the present work was to study the prostaglandin excretion in young nonpregnant ovulatory women during the menstrual cycle on the one hand and in postmenopausal women on the other hand and to investigate the influence of female sex hormones (estradiol, progesterone) on urinary prostanoid excretion. Urinary excretion rates of prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)), 6-keto-PGF(1 alpha), thromboxane B-2 (TxB(2)) and their metabolites PGE-M (11 alpha-hydroxy-9,15-dioxo-2,3,4,5,20-pentanor-19-carboxyprostanoic acid), 2,3-dinor-6-keto-PGF(1 alpha), 2,3-dinor-TxB(2) and 11-dehydro-TxB(2) were determined by gas chromatography-triple stage quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) in 41 young nonpregnant women during the follicular phase and during the luteal phase and in 23 postmenopausal women. Excretion rates of all urinary prostanoids were not significantly different in the follicular phase when compared with the luteal phase. In contrast to the young ovulatory women, PGE(2) and TxB(2) were significantly higher in postmenopausal women. Concerning the other prostaglandins significant differences between these groups of women did not exist. Although serum levels ni estradiol and progesterone were different in young and post-menopausal women, sex hormones have not been shown to correlate with prostaglandins. Our data do not suggest sex hormones to be responsible for the difference in the prostaglandin excretion in women of reproductive age and in women in the menopause. Further systematic investigations into age dependency of prostaglandin excretion in women are necessary.