Electroencephalographic changes during long term treatment with oral contraceptives.

Abstract

The electroencephalograms (EEG) obtained in 6 patients using estroge n-progestin combinations for long periods of time are described and compared with those obtained from 7 control women not using the steroid combinations. The subjects were aged 29-40 the controls aged 23-28. The natural sleeping EEG of the controls showing a biphasic basal body temperature were examined. In all these cases the sleep spindle was generalized from the frontal to the occipital area during the low temperature phase and localized in the frontal or parietal area in the high temperature phase. The users of oral contraceptives had no definite tendency in the localization of the sleep spindle but the slow spindles were seen to appear in all the cases. The slow spindle had been seen previously in patients with amenorrhea and anovulatory cycles. It is concluded that such data might possibly indicate that oral contraceptives alter hypothalmic function.