The colon transit time in different phases of the menstrual cycle: assessed with biomagnetic technique

Twenty measurements of the colon transit time (CTT) were performed by biomagnetic technique in five young women. Subjects were assessed during 12 hours a day for four phases of the menstrual cycle (MC): early follicular (EF), days 1-4 of the MC; late follicular (LF), days 9-14; early luteal (EL), days 15-18; and late luteal (LL), days 23-28 of the MC. Comparison intra and inter-subjects were made. The results of a t test for dependent samples, demonstrate that women with regular MC had higher CTT on LF (3.29 +/- 1.40 m/hr) than on LL phases of the MC (1.28 +/- 0.4 m/hr) t = 3.22, p = 0.04. Also we found differences from EL to LL phases of the MC (4.49 +/- 1.72 m/hr vs. 1.29 +/- 0.35 m/hr, t = 3.05, p = 0.05). However, in a patient with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), we found a CTT of 3.1 m/hr on day 3; 2 m/hr on day 15; and 0.8 m/hr on day 30 of the MC. The time of the magnetic marker displacement was higher on days 3 of the MC, if we compared these values with those from women with regular MC (1.8 +/- 0.67 m/hr). We demonstrate that biomagnetic technique is a powerful method to assess changes in CTT presented in female subjects during the MC. Furthermore, the results found for the CTT in different phases of the MC of the females subjects, are in agreement with those reported by using other techniques.