INCREASED LEVELS OF SEVERAL LYSOSOMAL-ENZYMES IN SERA FROM WOMEN USING ORAL-CONTRACEPTIVES

The activities of eight lysosomal enzymes were measured by spectrophor ometric/spectrofluorimetric techniques in the blood sera of 19-24 appa rently healthy women using an oral contraceptive (progestin and oestra diol synthetic derivative, desogestrel + ethinyloestradiol) in compari son with 15-16 non-pregnant women not using contraceptives (controls), in a randomised, double-blind, controlled study. beta-Glucuronidase a nd arylesterase showed statistically increased activities (P less than or equal to 0.05) in the experimental group in comparison to the cont rols. No significant differences were found for the remaining enzymes assayed (beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase, alpha-L-fucosidase, alpha-mannos idase, beta-galactosidase, alpha-galactosidase and acid phosphatase). Similar results were obtained when the contraceptive formed by the com bination of levonorgestrel and ethinyloestradiol was used by an experi mental group of eight healthy women. These results suggest that the si gnificant increases in the above-mentioned activities might be the phy siological response of the organism (through catabolic processes catal ysed by lysosomal enzymes) to the administration of exogenous syntheti c compounds, such as the oral contraceptives used.