Increased levels of polychlorobiphenyls in Italian women with endometriosis

Endometriosis has been hypothesised to be linked to persistent and toxic organochlorinated chemicals. Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds have in particular been associated with the disease, mainly on the basis of experimental studies. Data in women are conflicting. A case-control study on 80 Italian nulliparous women of reproductive age was carried out to assess whether there is a correlation between the presence of endometriosis and blood levels of polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), a family of ubiquitary environmental pollutants which comprises congeners with dioxin-like activity. Higher levels of PCBs were found in women with endometriosis. A mean cumulative value of 410 ng g(-1), lipid base, was found in cases versus the value of 250 ng g(-1) observed in the control group (odds ratio for upper tertile 4.0, CI 95% 1.3-13; p = 0.0003). PCB increase involved both dioxin-like (PCBs 105, 118, 156, and 167) and non-dioxin-like congeners (PCBs 101, 138, 153, 170, 180). (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The combined effect of betamethasone and ritodrine on the middle cerebral artery in low risk third trimester pregnancies

Aims: To evaluate the effect of antenatal betamethasone and ritodrine in third trimester low risk singleton pregnancies by Doppler technology. Subjects and methods: Eighty-four third trimester pregnant women who received a full course of betamethasone and delivering uneventfully were recruited. The Doppler examination included the assessment of the pulsatility index (PI) of the umbilical artery (UA PI) and the middle cerebral artery (MCA PI) prior to treatment (baseline), and 48, 72 and 96 h after the second dose of betamethasone. Results: No significant difference was found in UA PI and UA/MCA values following betamethasone therapy. In contrast, MCA PI decreased significantly 48 h from the last injection of betamethasone in the whole study group (P < 0.001), and returned to basal values at 96 h. We also found that MCA PI was reduced significantly at 48 h in the subgroup under tocolysis (n = 41) and in the subgroup not receiving tocolysis (n = 43). We compared MCA PI values for both subgroups in the four timings, and found a non-significant difference comparing baseline and 96 h values. However, when comparing MCA PI values after 48 and 72 h, significantly lower differences in PI values in both subgroups were found. Conclusion: In low risk pregnancies, betamethasone therapy in the third trimester is related to a significant but transient reduction of MCA PI, which is more pronounced during tocolytic therapy. Although the physiological basis of this effect is currently unclear, it could be related to the local regulation of intracerebral blood flow

Terapia ormonale sostitutiva nella menopausa chirurgica

[No abstract available

Preliminary report on a new and noninvasive method for the assessment of fetal lung maturity

Object: Several patterns of fetal breathing movements (FBMs), i.e. abdominal wall movements (AWm), thoracic wall movements (TWm) and nasal fluid flow velocity waveforms (NFFVW), were investigated by ultrasound (US) technology and related to fetal pulmonary maturity and immaturity, i.e. fetal lung maturity (FLM) tests, in order to validate the hypothesis that they may indicate whether the fetal lung is mature or immature, regardless of gender, weight and gestational age. Material and methods: We prospectively enrolled 143 highrisk pregnancies in which a complete US study of FBMs and FLM tests was performed. Among them 43 women satisfied the inclusion criteria. USFLM was defined as the presence of regular NFFVW detected by pulsed Doppler and spectral analysis, or irregular NFFVW synchronous with TWm detected by Mmode.An US guided amniocentesis was performed in order to collect amniotic fluid (AF) and FLM was evaluated by L/S (lecithin/sphingomyelin) determination, presence of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and lamellar bodies (LBs) count.At the end of the study the diagnostic accuracy of USFLM was compared to that of FLM tests. Results: Diagnostic accuracy for US evaluation of FLM was as follows: sensitivity: 89,6%; specificity: 85,7%; PPV: 92,8%; NPV: 80%. Diagnostic accuracy of FLM tests was as follows: sensitivity: 100%;specificity: 51,7%; PPV: 100%; NPV: 50%. L/S determination predicted lung maturity with a sensitivity of 100%; specificity of 93,1%; PPV of 100%; NPV of 87,5%. Conclusion: Presence of regular NFFVW or irregular NFFVW and TWm correlate accurately with conventional FLM tests.We suggest that this noninvasive procedure may be helpful for assessing FLM, particularly under certain circumstances, e.g., oligoanhydramnios, laboratory logistic equipment difficulties or heavily stained AF samples, amniocentesis refusal, religious concerns