Interpretation of items in the AUDIT questionnaire

AIMS: To test for the possibility that tertiary students misinterpret certain items on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). METHODS: Responses to alternative question wordings were compared with responses to standard items. RESULTS: Alterations to items 5 and 9, so that consequences of drinking epitomized in these items were more specifically defined, resulted in markedly different response distributions to the item, but the total AUDIT score was not changed. CONCLUSIONS: Caution is necessary before using individual AUDIT items as measures of consequences in population surveys, and the possibility of false positives in total scores should be borne in mind.     

Prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of nasal bone abnormalities in three fetuses with Down syndrome.

Facial abnormalities are common in neonates with Down syndrome. This report describes nasal bone abnormalities in 3 unselected fetuses with Down syndrome detected prenatally by ultrasonography. Two of the fetuses had ultrasonographically undetectable nasal bones and 1 had a nasal bone measurement that was below the 2.5th percentile of the normal distribution for that gestational age.     

Raised maternal serum inhibin A concentration at 10 to 14 weeks of gestation is associated with pre-eclampsia

Maternal serum inhibin A and free β human chorionic gonadotrophin (β-hCG) were measured in 759 chromosomally normal, pregnant women at 10–14 weeks of gestation. There were nine who subsequently developed pre-eclampsia and in these women the maternal serum inhibin A concentration was significantly higher than in the normotensive controls.     

Microcirculatory studies in erectile disorders

Local microcirculatory disturbances and fibrosis are thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of erectile dysfunction (ED). The assessment of these disturbances is now possible using non-invasive techniques such as laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) and measuring transcutaneous pO2 and pCO2. However, these techniques need standardisation (e.g. in terms of equipment, conditions in which the examination is carried out and duration of measurement). Nevertheless, these techniques have a qualitative value. Marked alterations are seen in smokers and hypertensive patients. LDF has also been used to monitor the effect of treatment (e.g. after intracavernosal PGE1). These techniques remain non-diagnostic in individual patients. However, in groups of patients they may produce useful information (e.g. to assess treatments for ED).     

Endocrinology of in-vitro fertilization pregnancies during the first trimester

The endocrine function of the corpus luteum and placenta andthe inter-relationships between ovarian steroids and the placentalproteins in pregnancies achieved following ovarian stimulation,in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) have beeninvestigated. The serum concentrations of human chorionic gonadotrophin(HCG), Schwangerschaft protein-1 (SP-1), pregnancy-associatedplasma protein A (PAPP-A), progesterone and oestradiol weremeasured at weekly intervals between the 4th (ET plus 2 weeks)and 14th week of gestation in 86 pregnancies. The mean concentrationsof the placental proteins and oestradiol were significantlyhigher in twin than in singleton pregnancies from as early as5 weeks gestation, but the mean concentrations of progesteronewere significantly higher only at the end of the first trimester.Ranking, as demonstrated by the presence of statistically significantcorrelations between serum levels of each substance analysedin week 13 with those of preceding weeks, was established forprogesterone and SP-1 from the 5th week, for oestradiol andPAPP-A from the 7th week and for HCG from the 8th week of gestation.The presence of statistically significant correlations betweeneach substance analysed suggests that the placenta becomes thedominant source of oestradiol from 8 weeks gestation and ofprogesterone not until 12 weeks gestation, and that the placentalsynthesis of HCG, SP-1, PAPP-A, oestradiol and progesteroneappear to be linked. There were no statistically significantcorrelations between the serum concentrations of HCG and eitherprogesterone or oestradiol until the production of each hadbecome predominantly placental.