Abstract
Fibrinogen-fibrin degradation products, FDP, in menstrual blood during the first three days of menstrual blood during the first three days of menstruation have been investigated. Two groups of women were studied, those with normal menstrual blood loss (15 women, mean loss 30 ml, range 8-430 ml) and those with menorrhagia (14 women, mean loss 222 ml, range 107–729 ml). The following results were obtained: 1) The FDP concentrations decreased during menstruation in both groups. 2) The FDP concentrations in the two groups were compared for each day of the menstrual period. No differences were found between the two groups. A possible explanation of the results is given: there is a higher rate of coagulation and fibrinolysis in the endometrium of women with menorrhagia compared with women with normal blood losses. The hypothesis is supported by results of studies in which tranexamic acid, an inhibitor of fibrinolysis, was given to reduce the menstrual blood loss. 3) The FDP excretion patterns differed from woman to woman. There were no consistent differences between the menorrhagic and the control group.