Gender ratio of migraine without aura: observations over time

Abstract Migraine without aura is typically considered a female condition. The purpose of this study was to determine if there have been any changes in the female-to-male ratio of the disease over time. We included in the study all patients with migraine without aura (n=3457) referred to the Parma University Headache Centre between 1976 and 1995. They were divided into subgroups with respect to gender and year-range of onset of migraine (before 1960, in the 1960s, in the 1970s, in the 1980s, and between 1990 and 1995). Gender ratio ranged from 3.6:1 (in patients with onset before 1960) to 2.8:1 (in patients with onset in the 1980s), with no statistically significant changes during the observation period.     

384例女青年乳房形态学调查

对384例未婚女青年的双侧乳房进行了调查研究,提供了有关乳房、乳头、乳晕的形态、大小和位置等各项重要的测量数据,可供乳房成形术时参考。     

用人工合成材料的吊带经耻骨固定或经腹壁固定治疗真性女性压力性尿失禁

目的总结用人工合成材料的吊带经不同的途径治疗女性压力性尿失禁的方法和结果。方法采用人工合成材料的吊带经耻骨固定（In—Fast）技术治疗3例，用经腹壁固定（TVT和IVS）技术治疗13例。结果绝大多数病人均排尿通畅．无尿失禁复发。但TVT组有1例排尿不畅，3个月后剪断吊带后变为轻度尿失禁。In-fast组有1例性交不适伴阴道分泌物增加。结论用人工合成材料的吊带进行悬吊技术治疗女性真性压力性尿失禁是安全、微创和有效的手术方式。经耻骨固定技术和用经腹壁固定技术这两种方法各有自己的优缺点。应根据病人的具体情况去选择使用。     

A rare case of nasopharyngeal angiofibroma in an elderly female

Nasopharyngeal angiofibromas occur predominantly in males in their puberty and adolescence; the incidence in other age groups and in women is exceptional. This report describes a case of a 57-year-old woman with nasopharyngeal angiofibroma presenting typical radiological findings in computed tomography, MR imaging and angiography. The tumour was successfully removed and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. In 6 years follow-up the patient is free of symptoms.     

Sex differences in plasma cocaine levels and subjective effects after acute cocaine administration in human volunteers

Gender differences after acute cocaine administration have received little attention in spite of the fact that males and females respond differently to many drugs. Seven male and seven female occasional cocaine users received both an intranasal dose of cocaine hydrochloride (0.9 mg/kg) and placebo powder in a randomized order and reported subjective effects via an instrumental joystick device and various questionnaires. Blood samples were withdrawn at 5-min intervals to assess pharmacokinetic differences. Male subjects achieved the highest peak plasma cocaine levels (144.4 ± 17.5 ng/ml), detected cocaine effects significantly faster than females and also experienced a greater number of episodes of intense good and bad effects. Women studied during the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle had peak plasma cocaine levels of 73.2 ± 9.9 ng/ml, which was significantly higher than when they were studied during their luteal phase (54.7 ± 8.7 ng/ml), but there were no differences in their subjective reports of cocaine effects. In spite of the different cocaine blood levels and subjective effects, peak heart rate increases did not differ between males and females suggesting that women may be more sensitive than males to the cardiovascular effects of cocaine. These data suggest that there are significant gender and menstrual cycle differences in the response to acute intranasal cocaine administration and these differences may have implications for the differential abuse of this drug.This paper is dedicated to Xavier Lamas, MD, PhD, who lost his life while ascending Mt. Everest, August 1995     

The effects of photoperiod on olfactory c-fos expression in prairie voles,Microtus ochrogaster

Reproduction stops among the majority of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) during the winter. Short day lengths suppress male reproductive function dramatically in the laboratory, but photoperiod exerts only subtle effects on female reproductive function. Thus, the regulation of seasonal breeding in this species remains partially unspecified. In contrast to commonly studied rodents, female prairie voles do not undergo spontaneous estrous cycles; rather, they are induced into estrus by exposure to chemosignals expressed in conspecific male urine. In the present study, the hypothesis was tested that seasonal breeding among female prairie voles in the field reflects photoperiod-mediated changes in the responsiveness of the chemosensory system to male urine. Responsiveness was assessed by localizing the product of the c-fos immediate early gene with an immunocytochemical procedure. Female prairie voles were maintained in either long (LD 16:8) or short (LD 8:16) photoperiods from birth until adulthood, and exposed to either male urine or skim milk. Immunocytochemistry forfos protein revealed an increased number of immunoreactive cells within the accessory olfactory system of female prairie voles, including the accessory olfactory bulbs, granule cell layer, as well as the medial and cortical divisions of the amygdala 1 h after exposure to a single drop of urine as compared to individuals exposed to skim milk. The number of immunoreactivefos cells induced in females by conspecific male urine was also affected by photoperiod; short day females displayed fewer immunoreactivefos neurons in the accessory olfactory system as compared to long-day animal. Taken together, these results indicate that similar mechanisms underlie the responses of different rodent species to the chemosignals of conspecifics and that the pattern offos expression observed in the present study has functional significance for the regulation of reproduction in prairie voles.     

Relative body fat and anthropometric prediction of body density of female athletes

Summary Ninety-one percent (n=182) of the female members of South Australian representative squads in 14 sports volunteered to act as subjects. Twenty-seven percent of them had represented Australia. The underwater weighing method together with the measurement of residual volume (RV) by helium dilution were used to determine body density (BD); the percent body fat (% BF) was then computed according to Siri.A stepwise multiple regression analysis yielded a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.863 between the criterion (BD) and the best weighted sum of predictors (anthropometric variables): BD (g·cm^–3)=1.14075–0.04959 (log₁₀ triceps, subscapular, supraspinale and calf skinfolds in mm)+0.00044 (age in decimal years)–0.000612 (waist girth in cm)+0.000284 (height in cm)–0.000505 (gluteal girth in cm)+0.000331 (breast girth in cm).Only those predictors which resulted in a statistically significant increase inR (p0.05) were included. The standard error of estimate of 0.00597 g · cm^–3 was equivalent to 2.7% BF at the mean. This equation was shown to be largely population specific. There was a range of 7.6–35.8% of BF and the overall mean of 18.5% was significantly lower (p<0.001) than that of 23.4% obtained on a moderately active reference sample of similar age (n=135). If group sizes of only one or two are regarded as too small for meaningful comparison, then the lowest mean of 13.5% was achieved by the long-distance runners (n=14). The highest averages were registered by the heavyweight rowers (24.2%;n=7) and soccer players (22.0%;n=11). The overall average for games players (n=107) was 19.4%.This study was supported by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia     

Effects of intracerebral implants of steroid hormones on scent marking in the ovariectomized female gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

The effects of intracerebral implants of steroid hormones on scent marking in the female gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) were studied in two experiments. In Experiment 1 various steroids were implanted alone or in combination into the preoptic and anterior hypothalamic area of ovariectomized females. Unilateral implants of testosterone + estrogen, estrogen, estrogen + progesterone, testosterone and testosterone + progesterone stimulated a significant level of marking when compared to controls. Experiment 2 utilized bilateral implants of estrogen dissolved in paraffin in order to explore the distribution hormone sensitive areas in the brain which might be important in the regulation of scent marking in the female gerbil. Pellets of estrogen-paraffin were implanted stereotaxically into either the anterior hypothalamus, preoptic area, septum, hippocampus, thalamus, amygdala or anterior olfactory nucleus of ovariectomized females. Total dosage of hormone implanted was 8.2–8.4 μg. A significant level of marking resulted in animals receiving implants into the anterior hypothalamus, preoptic area and septum when compared to controls. Marking appeared at about the same rate in each of these groups; however, the level of marking attained differed. By the last trial, anterior hypothalamic implanted animals were marking significantly more often than animals in either the preoptic or septum groups. Although there was no evidence of ieakage from the brain, the data suggested that some rapid diffusion of hormone, largely restricted to the brain, was taking place or that the three areas were differentially responsive to the hormone. The data do indicate that some localization of function does exist with respect to regulation of scent marking in the female.     

雌性Fmr1基因敲除小鼠生殖功能的初步研究

目的初步研究敲除Fm r1基因对动物生殖功能的影响。方法6~8周龄雌性Fm r1基因敲除小鼠24只,分为对照组、春季超排组和冬季超排组,每组8只,进行超排,用放射免疫分析法测定超排前后血清雌二醇(E2)、孕酮(P)、促黄体生成素(LH)和促卵泡生成素(FSH)含量,以及不同季节的超排卵数,并进行统计学处理和分析。结果超排后小鼠血清中P和LH含量明显增加[(24.43±13.33)比(1.60±0.46);(173.86±112.09)比(0.36±0.23),P<0.01]。与冬季(11.44±5.93)比较,春季(37.25±13.91)的超排卵数明显增加(P<0.01)。结论雌性Fm r1基因敲除小鼠的生殖系统功能没有明显异常。与正常小鼠一样,Frm 1基因敲除小鼠机体内P和LH的分泌随动物的生理发育时期而变化。其超排效果随季节而有显著不同。     

女性毒品犯人格的基本特征及其相关因素的研究

目的 探讨在押女性毒品犯人格的基本特征、类型特征及其影响因素。方法 以252名在押女性毒品犯为被试，对CPI的测验数据进行t检验、Z检验和F检验。结果 ①女性毒品犯不仅与常模团体相比较具有显著特征．而且与男性毒品犯相比较也存在特殊性；②女性毒品犯在4种人格类型上的分布不平衡．较多地在Delta型；③民族、地域、年龄及关押时间对女性毒品犯的人格特征的变异均有一定影响．但减刑次数未见反映出被试人格积极改变的效果。结论 女性毒品犯广泛而明显的消极性人格特征，并与民族、地域、年龄及关押时间有关。