From the Research
Ovulation appears to have occurred around day 15-16, with a clear estrogen peak followed by a progesterone rise in the luteal phase, indicating a healthy, ovulatory menstrual cycle with appropriate hormonal shifts at each phase. The estradiol levels show a classic pattern, rising from follicular phase levels (1.31-2.37 ng/mg) to peak at ovulation (6.23 ng/mg on day 16), then gradually declining through the luteal phase, as supported by the study 1 which found that serum estradiol and progesterone levels were better biomarkers for signaling the start of the 6-day fertile window and the ovulation/luteal transition interval.
Hormone Patterns
- Estradiol levels are within the expected ranges for each phase of the menstrual cycle, with a peak at ovulation, as seen in the reference ranges provided.
- Progesterone metabolites (a-Pregnanediol and b-Pregnanediol) appropriately surge after ovulation, peaking around day 26, confirming a functional corpus luteum, which is consistent with the findings of the study 2 that urinary profiles of pregnanediol-3-glucuronide lagged behind serum progesterone by one to two days.
- The b-Pregnanediol/E2 ratio follows the expected pattern, remaining lower during ovulation (<100) and increasing during the luteal phase (188-383), as supported by the study 1 which found that the Area Under the Curve (AUC) algorithm with (E2, P) levels signaled the Day -1 to Day 0 ovulation/luteal transition interval in all cycles.
Sample Collection and Hormone Metabolism
- Creatinine levels remain within normal range throughout the cycle, indicating reliable sample collection, which is important for accurate measurement of hormone metabolites, as noted in the study 2 that creatinine indexing was beneficial when urinary profiles in individual cycles were compared with changes of serum E2.
- The study 2 also found that enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was a simple, flexible, and economical method for measuring urinary steroid metabolites, which could be useful for future studies on hormone metabolism and menstrual cycle regulation.
Menstrual Cycle Regulation
- The hormonal shifts observed in this cycle are consistent with a healthy, ovulatory menstrual cycle, with estrogen dominance in the follicular phase, an estrogen surge triggering ovulation, and progesterone dominance in the luteal phase, as supported by the study 1 which found that serum E2 and (E2, P) were better biomarkers for signaling the start of the 6-day fertile window and the ovulation/luteal transition interval.