A comparative prospective study of a chronic low dose versus a conventional ovulation stimulation regimen using recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone in anovulatory infertile women

The efficacy and safety of a chronic low dose (group A) anda conventional (group B) stimulation regimen of recombinanthuman follicle stimulating hormone (r-HFSH) were compared in103 WHO Group II infertile women with clomiphene citrate-resistantanovulation. Mono- or bifollicular development was induced in88.1% of patients in group A compared with 76.1% in group B.Ovulation and pregnancy rates were higher in group A (71.4%and 33.3%, respectively) than in group B (63.0% and 20%), butthese differences were not statistically significant. Additionally,the total number of follicles that were >10 mm diameter waslower in group A than group B (3.0 ± 2.6 versus 6.3 ±6.5; P < 0.0001), as was the oestradiol concentration (504± 477 pg/ml versus 988 ± 740 pg/ml; P < 0.03).The median dose of FSH (75 IU ampoules) used per cycle was 11ampoules in group A and 12.5 in group B. In terms of the incidenceof ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, no differences were recordedbetween the two groups. The results demonstrated that r-HFSHis effective and safe in both these treatment protocols. Thechronic low dose regimen was associated with a trend towardsa higher rate of mono- or bifollicular development, withoutjeopardizing the incidence of pregnancy.     

Iron promotes DEN initiated GST-P foci in rat liver

Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) was administered to rats as a single dose, which is known not to give rise to liver tumours without subsequent promotion. Iron dextran (Fe/Dex) was then administered parenterally to the animals, to induce iron overload. At 3 and 6 months after the final Fe/Dex treatments, livers were examined quantitatively for the numbers of the placental form of glutathione-S-transferase (GST-P) expressing foci, the area occupied by these foci and their size distribution. The results demonstrate that iron not only increased the number of foci after DEN initiation in the rat liver, but that the area occupied by these lesions increased significantly between 3 and 6 months after initiation. There is no evidence that iron increased the number of GST- P expressing foci present in rats not exposed to DEN. This indicates that iron did not act as an initiator in this rodent model of liver cancer. The increase in the area of the liver occupied by the foci in iron and DEN treated rats was due to an increase in the size of the foci, as well as to an increase in the number of foci. This is the first demonstration that iron can act as a promoter of DEN initiated hepatocytes. It also demonstrates that fibrogenesis is not an absolute requirement for the promotion, by iron, of liver foci in the rat, and that this could also be the case for iron overload in man. Iron may also act as a promoter of already initiated hepatocytes in the development of human liver cancer, as it does in the rat.      

Does diabetes increase cell death in the heart?

Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery -     

Verstoß einer privaten Krankenversicherung gegen das Rechtsberatungsgesetz durch Einzug abgetretener Patientenforderungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Neutrophil dermatosis of the dorsal hands

Neutrophil dermatosis of the dorsal hands (NDDH) is a recently described skin manifestation regarded as a subset of acute febrile neutrophilic dermatotis (Sweet syndrome). We describe 5 cases with pustular and ulcerative plaques and/or bullae and vesicles of the dorsal hands. Three of the patients also had skin changes at sides other than the hands. Associated conditions were found in two patients, one patient treated with hemo-dialysis for chronic glomerulonephritis, and one patient had suffered from a streptococcal tonsillitis prior to the eruption. Two of the patients had fever, two had neutrophil leucocytosis in peripheral blood and two had elevated sedimentation rates. Histological findings showed signs of vasculitis in biopsies from two of the patients. NDDH is discussed on the basis of prior case reports concerning the subject, and it is concluded that Neutrophil dermatosis of the dorsal hands should be regarded as a localized variety of Sweet syndrome.     

Infant growth and aorta total lipid fatty acids

Abnormal fetal and infant growth have increasingly been correlated with adult onset cardiovascular disease. To date, there is little known about the lipid fatty acid profiles in infant cardiovascular tissue. Therefore, we analysed total lipid fatty acids from thoracic and abdominal aorta intima and media from 24 normally grown sudden infant death syndrome cases. Aorta from small for gestational age (n = 2), failure to thrive from birth (n = 3), and premature (n = 1) infants were also examined. Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (C20:3n-6) and oleic acid (C18:1n-9) concentrations were significantly lower in the thoracic than in the abdominal aorta. Similar dietary related differences were found in the subgroup (n = 15) of infants fed on formula milks. Both abdominal and thoracic intimal arachidonic (C20:4n-6) to dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid ratios were greater in the infants with retarded growth after birth than in their normally grown counterparts. Growth restriction in infancy might disrupt the normal accretion of vascular endothelial polyunsaturated fatty acids.