Serotonin and the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome was induced in rabbit by administration of human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). In an attempt to establish whether serotonin plays a part in the induction of this syndrome, the hyperstimulated rabbits were divided into two groups and were administered known anti-serotonin drugs, cyproheptadine and methysergide, respectively. The group treated with cyproheptadine, a non-specific serotonin antagonist, exhibited significant acceleration in the regression of the syndrome. Methysergide, a specific serotonin antagonist, administered to the second group, neither prevented the occurrence of the syndrome nor accelerated its regression. The results of this work indicate that serotonin does not seem to be directly involved in the production of the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in rabbits.