Superfund Research Program
Assessing the Adverse Effects of Environmental Hazards on Reproductive Health
Project Leader: Bill L. Lasley
Grant Number: P42ES004699
Funding Period: 1995-2015
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Final Progress Reports
PublicationsConnect with the Grant Recipients
Final Progress Reports
Project investigators have reported that using urinary follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) as a biomarker can confirm the detection of early pregnancy and predict the normalcy of the next menstrual cycle. Those observations have been extended to indicate that the delay of ovulation in the next menstrual cycle, as predicted by FSH, is also predictive of an increased bone loss in young, normally menstruating women. In addition, the pattern of the urinary FSH profile during the preovulatory period appears to be a good predictor of the fecundity of that menstrual cycle. Finally, researchers have also demonstrated that the day of the midcycle FSH peak in urine is a more consistent and simpler biomarker for determining the day of ovulation compared to more complex algorithms which involve more than one biomarker assay.