Evaluation of nitric oxide and homocysteine levels in primary dysmenorrheal women in Taiwan.

In this study, we investigated the possible pathophysiological mechanisms in primary dysmenorrhea. The study was undertaken to determine the effect of homocysteine on the nitric oxide (NO) pathway in primary dysmenorrheal women. A total of 94 students from a local nursing college participated. Group 1 consisted of 51 normal subjects with no dysmenorrhea. Group 2 had 43 subjects with dysmenorrheal symptoms. Our results show that serum NO levels in group 2 are higher than those in group 1. However, the serum homocysteine level was lower in group 2. These observations indicate that the NO pathway is involved in the pathophysiological mechanism responsible for the damaging effects of homocysteine on dysmenorrheal women.