19 research outputs found

    Status passage, stigma and menstrual management: 'starting' and 'being on'

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    The purpose of this article is to examine and analyse the different discourses acting on the menstruating body and influencing the ways in which women experience and manage menstruation, on a personal level as well as collectively. The article is thus concerned with menstrual etiquette and the societal norms informing how menstruation is managed. It offers an observational and theoretical interpretation of the practical aspects of menstrual management with reference to the sociological concept of a ‘status passage’ (Glaser and Strauss) and theories of impression management and stigma (Goffman). It also discusses the learnt processes of body watching and menstrual control and supports on the basis of ‘real-life’ accounts given by research participants. The theoretical framework of the article provides a way to move forward discussions about the historical and medical construction of menstruation by discussing how it is managed as an ‘everyday’ bodily process

    Androgen receptor CAG polymorphism and the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia in a Brazilian population

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    Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a very frequent age-related proliferative abnormality in men. Polymorphic CAG repeat in the androgen receptor (AR) can alter transactivation of androgen-responsive genes and potentially influence BPH risk. We investigated the association between CAG repeat length and risk of BPH in a case-control study of a Brazilian population. We evaluated 214 patients; 126 with BPH and 88 healthy controls. DNA was extracted from peripheral leucocytes and the AR gene was analyzed using fragment analysis. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval were estimated using logistic regression models. Mean CAG length was not different between patients with BPH and controls. The CAG repeat length was examined as a categorical variable (CAG < 21 vs. CAG > 21 and CAG < 22 vs. CAG > 22) and did not differ between the control vs. the BPH group. We found no evidence for an association between AR CAG repeat length in BPH risk in a population-based sample of Brazilians
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