Dr. Jaime Moises Vasquez, M.D.

Increasing evidence suggests that neurotransmitter Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is involved in the pathogenesis of ovulatory dysfunction through its central role in the hypothalamus. However, the peripheral role of GABA in ovulatory dysfunction has not been sufficiently investigated in spite of its existence in peripheral organs. First, the aim of this study is to investigate serum GABA level in ovulatory dysfunction patients. Second, to explore the correlation between serum GABA level with Body Mass Index (BMI), dyslipidemia, total testosterone and 25 (OH) vitamin D. Eighty ovulatory dysfunction patients and eighty age-matched healthy females were included in the study. All parameters were assessed calorimetrically or with ELISA. ovulatory dysfunction patients showed significantly decreased serum GABA level compared to controls (p < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between serum GABA and 25(OH) vitamin D levels (r = 0.26, p = 0.018), and a significant negative correlation with total testosterone (r = - 0.3, p = 0.02), total cholesterol (TC) (r = - 0.31, p = 0.01) and LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-C) (r = - 0.23, p = 0.045), respectively. The findings of this study suggest that disrupted GABA level in the peripheral circulation is an added contributing factor to ovulatory dysfunction manifestations. GABA deficiency was correlated with 25 (OH) vitamin D deficiency, dyslipidemia, and low total testosterone. Further investigations for GABA adjustment might supply a promising means for better management of ovulatory dysfunction symptoms. (Journal of Medical Biochemistry. 2019 Oct;38(4):512)