Increasing Knowledge and Health Literacy about Preterm Births in Underserved Communities: An Approach to Decrease Health Disparities, a Pilot Study.

Introduction: Health disparities can negatively impact subsets of the population who have systematically experienced greater socioeconomic obstacles to health. For example, health disparities between ethnic and racial groups continue to grow due to the widening gap in large declines in infant and fetal mortality among Caucasians compared to Black non-Hispanic or African Americans. According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, preterm birth remains a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality.

Determination of vitamin D in relation to body mass index and race in a defined population of black and white women.

Objective: To examine the contributions of obesity and race to levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and parathyroid hormone (PTH) in a defined cohort of black and white women.

Methods: An interventional study was conducted from October 2004 to March 2008, among 219 healthy female volunteers. Serum 25(OH)D and PTH levels were determined in 117 African American women and 102 white women and the results were compared with body mass index (BMI), percentage body fat, serum lipids, and PTH levels.

Racial influence on the polycystic ovary syndrome phenotype: a black and white case-control study.

Objective: To estimate racial disparities in the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotype between white and black women with PCOS.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: Two academic medical centers.

Can foam sclerotherapy be used to safely treat bilateral varicose veins?

Objective: We assessed the use of ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy (UGFS) to treat bilateral varicose veins either as synchronous or interval procedures. We specifically assessed total foam volume usage and its influence on early outcome and complications.

Methods: We reviewed our prospectively compiled computerised database of patients with bilateral varicose veins who have undergone UGFS.

Effects of metformin in adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome undertaking lifestyle therapy: a pilot randomized double-blind study.

Our small study does not support the addition of metformin to the lifestyle of adolescents. Although there are favorable trends toward hyperandrogenism with metformin, these must be balanced against the increased rate of gastrointestinal side effects. However, other treatments were associated with an improved quality of life.

The effects of metformin with lifestyle therapy in polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized double-blind study.

Objective: To determine if the combination of lifestyle (caloric restriction and exercise) and metformin (MET) would be superior to lifestyle and placebo (PBO) in improving the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotype.

Design: Double-blind randomized 6-month trial of MET versus PBO.

Setting: Two academic medical centers.

Chronic type B dissecting aortoiliac aneurysm repair complicated by congenital pelvic kidney.

Although the association between abdominal aortic aneurysm and pelvic kidney is rare, previous reports have described various methods of repair with successful preservation of pelvic kidney function. We describe a unique case complicated by aortic dissection. Successful intra-operative perfusion of the kidney was maintained via a temporary axillorenal shunt.

Does polycystic ovary syndrome increase the disparity in metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular-related health for African-American women?

There have been few formal studies of differences in the phenotype of PCOS among women of African-American ancestry. Generally, African-American women tend to have an adverse cardiovascular risk profile when compared with women of other racial groups. The metabolic syndrome is a clinical disorder that identifies individuals at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

A comparison of methods and results in recruiting white and black women into reproductive studies: the MMC-PSU cooperative center on reproduction experience.

Establishing a holistic approach for the enrollment of subjects into clinical trials that includes strategies for the recruitment of non-traditional and minority populations has been an elusive task. The existence of such a design, that is understood and embraced by investigators and the target communities, would streamline the current level of commitment of time, energy and resources. This is necessary to successfully encourage individual and community participation in research studies.

Effects of hormone replacement therapy on olfactory sensitivity: cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

Objective: To determine whether hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preserved or improved olfactory sensitivity in healthy postmenopausal women.

Methods: Sixty-two postmenopausal women participated in a cross-sectional study of olfactory sensitivity involving detection, intensity discrimination, quality discrimination and two measures of quality recognition. In addition, 24 postmenopausal women participated in a longitudinal study of olfactory sensitivity.

Weight change and adverse event incidence with a low-dose oral contraceptive: two randomized, placebo-controlled trials.

Changes in body weight and the incidence of estrogen-related side effects with low-dose oral contraceptives (OCs) containing 20 microg ethinyl estradiol (EE) have not been demonstrated in placebo-controlled trials. Two placebo-controlled, randomized trials demonstrated the efficacy of a low-dose OC for the treatment of acne in healthy females (n = 704; >or=14 years old) with regular menstrual cycles and moderate facial acne. Patients were randomized to receive 20 microg EE/100 microg levonorgestrel (LNG) or placebo for six cycles.

The effects on ovarian activity of a monophasic oral contraceptive with 100 microg levonorgestrel and 20 microg ethinyl estradiol.

An open-label, single-center, noncomparative study was conducted to determine the effects of a monophasic oral contraceptive containing 100 microg levonorgestrel and 20 microg ethinyl estradiol on ovarian activity. The subjects were 26 healthy women 20 to 35 years of age who had normal ovulatory cycles and were not at risk for becoming pregnant. For 3 treatment cycles, they took 1 tablet of active drug daily for 21 days followed by placebo tablets for 7 days.

Inhibin-A and pro-alpha C are elevated in preeclamptic pregnancy and correlate with human chorionic gonadotropin.

Problem: Serum concentrations of the heterodimeric glycoprotein inhibin-A (alpha-beta A) and its alpha-subunit increase during pregnancy. The placenta is the predominant source of inhibin during pregnancy, and a paracrine role in the trophoblast has been suggested. Elevated serum concentrations of inhibin alpha-subunit as well as the glycoprotein human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) have been described in preeclamptic pregnancy.

Systemic lupus erythematosus in pregnancy.

Systemic lupus erythematosus is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that can affect multiple organ systems. The most popular theory regarding the origin of its clinical manifestations is that autoantibodies and circulating immune complexes become trapped in the capillaries of visceral structures.

Platelet and hemorrhagic disorders associated with pregnancy: a review. Part I.

Disorders of coagulation remain an important potential cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Bleeding disorders in pregnancy, unlike disorders of hypercoagulability, most often can have little impact on the mother but devastating consequences for the fetus. Further complicating the issue is that not all disorders of coagulation are inherited.

Dithiothreitol effects on the viscosity and quality of human semen.

Objective: To determine the effects of treatment with dithiothreitol (DTT) on seminal viscosity, consistency, and sperm motility, motion characteristics, and morphology.

Design: Prospective, in vitro study.

Setting: University teaching hospital.

Ethanol has direct inhibitory effects on steroidogenesis in human granulosa cells: specific inhibition of LH action.

We have evaluated the direct effects of ethanol (EtOH) on the production of progesterone (P) and estradiol-17 beta (E2) by cultured human granulosa cells obtained during in vitro fertilization procedures. On day 3 of culture, cells were divided into control and ethanol (20 mM) groups and stimulated by hFSH (50 ng/ml), hLH (0-50 ng/ml), FSH+LH, 8 Br-cAMP (0.25 mM) and androstenedione (10(-7) M).

Methods of ovulation induction.

The results of ovulation induction in patients with ovulatory dysfunction were reviewed for a one year period. Eighty-six women were assigned to four groups: secondary amenorrhea, anovulation, oligo-ovulation, and luteal phase defect/short luteal phase (LPD). All patients were monitored with basal body temperature (BBT) graph, postcoital testing, and ultrasonic scanning of ovarian follicles.

Motility and fertilizing ability of rat epididymal spermatozoa washed by a continuous gradient of Percoll.

Removal of epididymal fluids from epididymal sperm suspension is an important step for the study of sperm motility, capacitation, and the acrosome reaction. The technique of washing should minimize damage to viable spermatozoa but at the same time efficiently remove debris, non-sperm cells, and biological fluids. We examined sperm motility and fertilizability in vitro of rat epididymal spermatozoa after washing with Percoll continuous gradient.

Effect of aromatase inhibitors on the histology of the cycling rat ovary.

Two aromatase inhibitors, 4-hydroxyandrostenedione (4-OHA) and testololactone (Teslac), were tested to determine their effects on folliculogenesis, particularly ovarian histologic alterations, in the cycling rat. Adult, female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with continuous infusion of both inhibitors at concentrations of 10(-8), 10(-4), and 10(-2) M for 30 days. The effect of the inhibitors on cultured granulosa cells harvested on proestrus was determined in vitro.