Effect of 15(s)15-methyl-PGF2alpha-methyl ester vaginal suppositories on circulating hormone levels in early pregnancy.

Intravaginal administration of 15-methyl-PGF2alpha-methyl ester in the form of suppositories terminated pregnancy in 70 percent of the cases whose last menstrual periods ranged from 35 to 56 days. The use of these suppositories in 49 patients, between 57 to 80 days of gestation, dilated the cervix by 10 mm or more, in one hundred percent of the cases. A decrease in circulating levels of estradiol-17beta and progesterone was observed following 15-methyl-PGF2alpha administration. The mean estradiol-17beta levels declined by about 55.9 percent at 9 hours whereas, the corresponding fall in progesterone was 32.7 percent. This was indicative of a direct action of 15-methyl-PGF2alpha on the corpus luteum. The vaginal use of 15-methyl-PGF2-alpha-methyl ester suppositories thus appears to be a promising method for the termination of early pregnancy and for pre-operative cervical dilatation. The termination of early pregnancy appears to be partly due to the luteolytic effect of 15-methyl-PGF2alpha besides stimulating uterine contractions.