Effect of prostaglandin synthesis inhibition on human corpus luteum function.

The hypothesis that human luteolysis is mediated by prostaglandin F2 alpha was initially tested through placebo-controlled observations of the effect of a single dose of ibuprofen on progesterone and luteinizing hormone levels late in the luteal phase in normal human subjects. Falling levels of progesterone at rest, not significantly attenuated by ibuprofen, did not support, and falling progesterone/luteinizing hormone ratios at rest, significantly attenuated by ibuprofen, did support this hypothesis. The pulsatile nature of progesterone levels in the human was confirmed in this study.