Pain Testing in Endometriosis for the Clinician

Clinical pain testing has been used to ascertain the pathophysiology of many clinical conditions, but its use in the management of endometriosis has been limited. Although the testing can require the use of complex testing in the laboratory, this chapter is directed to look at a test for allodynia that can be applied in the clinic. The test for cutaneous allodynia is validated, does not require sophisticated tools, and is readily accepted by woman. The presence of allodynia in certain gynecological presentations can indicate the woman’s pain system has become sensitized. Uses of the test in clinical encounters with women suffering from endometriosis and possible uses in future are presented

Phytoestrogens in Human Pregnancy

Background. The hormonal milieu associated with pregnancy has become a focus of interest owing to potential links with the developmental origins of health and disease. Phytoestrogens are hormonally active plant-derived chemicals that may have an impact on human reproductive processes. However, developmental exposure to phytoestrogens has not been well characterized and thus our objective was to quantify phytoestrogen exposure during pregnancy and lactation. Methods. Women in the second trimester of pregnancy entered the study during counseling for prenatal genetic information. Women who had an indication for a genetic amniocentesis on the basis of late maternal age were approached for inclusion. They completed an environmental questionnaire; a sample of amniotic fluid was collected for karyotype, blood was collected from women during pregnancy and at birth, from the umbilical cord and breast milk. Samples were tested for the presence of daidzein and genistein by GC Mass Spectroscopy. Findings. Phytoestrogens are commonly found in pregnant women's serum and amniotic fluid during pregnancy. There is a sex difference in the concentrations with higher levels in amniotic fluid containing female fetuses. This difference was not present in maternal serum. Soy ingestion increases amniotic fluid phytoestrogen concentrations in female and male fetuses. The presence and concentrations of phytoestrogens did not differ in relation to common pregnancy complications or preexisting infertility

Molecule Microscopy

Contains research objectives and reports on three research projects.Francis L. Friedman ChairNational Institutes of Health (Grant AM-31546

Molecule Microscopy

Contains reports on two research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 ROI GM23678)Health Sciences Fun

Bedside Testing for Chronic Pelvic Pain: Discriminating Visceral from Somatic Pain

Objectives. This study was done to evaluate three bedside tests in discriminating visceral pain from somatic pain among women with chronic pelvic pain. Study Design. The study was an exploratory cross-sectional evaluation of 81 women with chronic pelvic pain of 6 or more months' duration. Tests included abdominal cutaneous allodynia (aCA), perineal cutaneous allodynia (pCA), abdominal and perineal myofascial trigger points (aMFTP) and (pMFTP), and reduced pain thresholds (RPTs). Results. Eighty-one women were recruited, and all women provided informed consent. There were 62 women with apparent visceral pain and 19 with apparent somatic sources of pain. The positive predictive values for pelvic visceral disease were aCA-93%, pCA-91%, aMFTP-93%, pMFTP-81%, and RPT-79%. The likelihood ratio (+) and 95% C.I. for the detection of visceral sources of pain were aCA-4.19 (1.46, 12.0), pCA-2.91 (1.19, 7.11), aMTRP-4.19 (1.46, 12.0), pMFTP-1.35 (0.86, 2.13), and RPT-1.14 (0.85, 1.52), respectively. Conclusions. Tests of cutaneous allodynia, myofascial trigger points, and reduced pain thresholds are easily applied and well tolerated. The tests for cutaneous allodynia appear to have the greatest likelihood of identifying a visceral source of pain compared to somatic sources of pain

Molecule Microscopy

Contains research objectives and reports on seven research projects.Whitaker Health Sciences FundFrancis L. Friedman ChairNational Institutes of Health (Grant AM-31546)National Institutes of Health (Grant AM-25535)International Business Machines, Inc

Identification of a putative man-made object from an underwater crash site using CAD model superimposition

In order to identify an object in video, a comparison with an exemplar object is typically needed. In this paper, we discuss the methodology used to identify an object detected in underwater video that was recorded during an investigation into Amelia Earhart\u27s purported crash site. A computer aided design (CAD) model of the suspected aircraft component was created based on measurements made from orthogonally rectified images of a reference aircraft, and validated against historical photographs of the subject aircraft prior to the crash. The CAD model was then superimposed on the underwater video, and specific features on the object were geometrically compared between the CAD model and the video. This geometrical comparison was used to assess the goodness of fit between the purported object and the object identified in the underwater video