Histamine concentration in menstrual and peripheral blood from patients with normal menstrual blood loss and in dysfunctional menstrual bleeding

Summary

Menstrual blood was collected from the uterus within the first 48 hours of the onset of menstrual bleeding from Group 1 (menstrual blood loss < 80 ml; n = 15) and Group 2 (menstrual blood loss > 80 ml; n = 20). A peripheral blood sample was collected to coincide with the mid-point in time of the menstrual sample collection. Extracted histamine was condensed to form a fluorophore and its fluorescence was measured by spectrofluorometry. The histamine levels in ng/ml (mean value ± s.d.) for Group 1 were 75.5 ± 34.4 for menstrual blood and 39.6 ± 12.8 for peripheral blood. For Group 2 the histamine levels in menstrual blood were 76.3 ± 33.4 and those for peripheral blood 41.1 ± 14.7. Histamine concentrations for plasma from menstrual blood from both groups were found to be higher than those for peripheral blood (P < 0.0001). No differences were observed between the two groups.