Circatrigintan hormonal and skin surface temperature rhythms following hysterectomy

Starting 2.5 weeks after removal of her uterus, but not of her ovaries, a 34-year-old, clinically healthy woman contributed a daily blood sample at 0900 and measured her skin surface temperature on her right breast above the nipple and just below the right breast daily for the ensuing 2 months. In aliquots of serum stored frozen, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were determined in the United States; these hormones and prolactin, estradiol (E2), progesterone, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), cortisol, triiodothyronine (T3), free thyroxine (T4), and free testosterone were determined in Italy. Hormonal data were analyzed by least-squares rhythmometry with and without the data obtained around the FSH-LH surge, to assess any circatrigintan variation. Technically, there is good agreement between the rhythm characteristics of the series of determinations made in Italy and the United States. A circatrigintan rhythm is thus quantified for LH, FSH, prolactin, E2, progesterone, and testosterone. Analyses of the differential skin surface temperature (DST) between the two sites were carried out to examine the usefulness of this variable as a marker rhythm for a noninvasive assessment of the time of ovulation. Features as prominent as the LH and FSH surge, which would render the noninvasive assessment of ovulation time more reliable, were not found in the DST of the subject under the conditions examined, even if a circatrigintan component is demonstrable for DST and some of the hormones examined after hysterectomy.