Ovarian reserve in breast cancer: assessment with anti-Müllerian hormone.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels fall during chemotherapy. Treatment-induced amenorrhoea is a reversible phenomenon, but few data are available on long-term AMH changes in breast cancer. The aim of the study was to describe serum AMH levels before, during and in the long term after chemotherapy, and to show a potential AMH recovery.

Primary adrenal insufficiency due to bilateral adrenal hemorrhage-adrenal infarction in the antiphospholipid syndrome: long-term outcome of 16 patients.

Context: Primary adrenal insufficiency due to bilateral adrenal hemorrhage-adrenal infarction is a rare and life-threatening manifestation of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APLS). Data on the long-term outcome are scarce.

Objective: The aims of the present study were to analyze the long-term outcome related to APLS per se and to characterize the course of adrenal involvement.

Influence of hormonal control on LH pulsatility and secretion in women with classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Objective: Women with classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) exhibit reduced fertility due to several factors including anovulation. This has been attributed to a disturbed gonadotropic axis as in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but there is no precise evaluation. Our aim was to evaluate the gonadotropic axis and LH pulsatility patterns and to determine factor(s) that could account for the potential abnormality of LH pulsatility.

Resumption of ovarian function and pregnancies in 358 patients with premature ovarian failure.

Context: Resumption of ovarian activity and spontaneous pregnancies are described in patients with premature ovarian failure (POF), but there is a lack of data concerning the prevalence of and predictive factors for these phenomena.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine both the prevalence of and predictive factors for spontaneous resumption of ovarian function in POF patients.

Design And Setting: A mixed retrospective and prospective study was performed at a referral center for reproductive endocrinology.

Impact of clinical, hormonal, radiological, and immunohistochemical studies on the diagnosis of postmenopausal hyperandrogenism.

Objective: Evaluation of postmenopausal women with suspicion of androgen-secreting tumor.

Design And Patients: We retrospectively studied 22 postmenopausal women referred to our center for suspicion of androgen-secreting tumor. All patients had clinical, biological, and morphological evaluation.

Secretion profiles from in vitro cultured follicles, isolated from fresh prepubertal and adult mouse ovaries or frozen-thawed prepubertal mouse ovaries.

In vitro folliculogenesis could be a new technology to produce mature oocytes from immature follicles that have been isolated from cryopreserved or fresh ovarian tissue. This technique could also be a tool for evaluation of oocyte quality and/or for determination of follicular parameters during follicular growth. Our objective was to characterize in mice the secretion profiles of follicles that had been isolated mechanically during in vitro follicular growth and in relation to the growth curve.

Leptin is better than any other biological parameter for monitoring the efficacy of renutrition in hospitalized malnourished elderly patients.

Objective: Despite malnutrition being a major problem in hospitalized elderly patients, there is a lack of studies focusing on the comparative value of biological parameters for monitoring renutrition. The aim of this study was to determine which biological parameter(s) could best monitor successful renutrition in hospitalized malnourished elderly patients.

Design: The objective of the study was to explore the impact of a 6-week renutrition process on anthropometric and biological parameters in elderly patients and to define the biological parameters associated with weight regain.

Children and adolescents with severe mental illness need vitamin D supplementation regardless of disease or treatment.

Background: To protect against osteoporosis, keeping the vitamin D blood level (25[OH]D; VDBL) above 30 ng/mL is recommended. It is established that regular intake of vitamin D, calcium intake, and physical exercise contribute to maximizing bone mineral mass during childhood and adolescence. Recent articles suggest that patients with schizophrenia treated with antipsychotics have low VDBL and may have a higher risk of hip fractures in their later years than the general population.

Microglial glucocorticoid receptors play a pivotal role in regulating dopaminergic neurodegeneration in parkinsonism.

Among the pathogenic processes contributing to dopaminergic neuron (DN) death in Parkinson disease (PD), evidence points to non-cell-autonomous mechanisms, particularly chronic inflammation mounted by activated microglia. Yet little is known about endogenous regulatory processes that determine microglial actions in pathological states. We examined the role of glucocorticoid receptors (GRs), activated by glucocorticoids released in response to stress and known to regulate inflammation, in DN survival.

Impaired glucose tolerance in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Our objectives were to analyse carbohydrate metabolism in a series of ALS patients and to examine potential association with parameters of lipid metabolism and clinical features. Glucose tolerance was assessed by the oral glucose tolerance test in 21 non-diabetic ALS patients and compared with 21 age- and sex-matched normal subjects. Lipids and lactate/pyruvate ratio, levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6) and adipocytokines (leptin and adiponectin) were also measured in ALS patients.

Fertility in women with nonclassical congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

Objective: In contrast to subfertility often reported in women suffering from the classical form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency, fertility in nonclassical CAH (NC-CAH) has been rarely studied. Our objective was to evaluate fertility in NC-CAH women.

Material And Methods: We studied 190 NC-CAH women (161 probands + 29 first degree relatives).

Assessment of theca cell function prior to controlled ovarian stimulation: the predictive value of serum basal/stimulated steroid levels.

Background: Serum androgen levels correlate with ovarian sensitivity to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) but in practice, standard baseline serum testosterone (T) levels prior to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) may not be the most appropriate marker for determination.

Methods: Infertile women enrolled in an IVF programme were included in this study. Serum T and Delta4-androstenedione (A), and the androgen precursor 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) were measured before and 24 h after a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist stimulation test (GAST).

Clinical and molecular characterization of a cohort of 161 unrelated women with nonclassical congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency and 330 family members.

Context: Nonclassical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NC-CAH) due to partial 21-hydroxylase deficiency is one of the most frequent autosomal recessive diseases.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the genotype/phenotype relationship in probands and family members.

Patients And Methods: A total of 161 NC-CAH unrelated women diagnosed on late-onset symptoms, mainly hirsutism, and post-ACTH 17-hydroxyprogesterone more than 10 ng/ml, and 330 of their relatives was explored.

[Two immunoassays for antimullerian hormone measurement: analytical and clinical performances].

Today, serum antimullerian hormone (AMH) is considered as an interesting marker of fertility potential in women to determine follicular status and in men to evaluate testicular function. We study analytical and clinical characteristics of two AMH commercialized immunoassays: Immunotech and DSL methods. The detection limits (close to 0.

Early energy deficit in Huntington disease: identification of a plasma biomarker traceable during disease progression.

Huntington disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder, with no effective treatment. The pathogenic mechanisms underlying HD has not been elucidated, but weight loss, associated with chorea and cognitive decline, is a characteristic feature of the disease that is accessible to investigation. We, therefore, performed a multiparametric study exploring body weight and the mechanisms of its loss in 32 presymptomatic carriers and HD patients in the early stages of the disease, compared to 21 controls.

Leptin a new biological marker for evaluating malnutrition in elderly patients.

Background: There is no single universally accepted biochemical marker of nutritional status in the elderly. Many markers are affected by non-nutritional factors.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the biological parameters best related to anthropometric markers of malnutrition in an elderly polypathological population, and determine cutoff values for these potential parameters to diagnose malnutrition.

Serum amyloid A and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome before and after surgically-induced weight loss in morbidly obese subjects.

Background: Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an inflammatory marker associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and found to be increased in obesity. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome, a frequent complication of obesity also associated with CVD risk, is improved after surgically-induced weight loss. To explore the potential role of SAA in the relation between OSA and CVD, we investigated relationships between changes in SAA concentrations and nocturnal respiratory events in obese subjects undergoing bariatric surgery.

Increased infiltration of macrophages in omental adipose tissue is associated with marked hepatic lesions in morbid human obesity.

In human obesity, white adipose tissue (WAT) is enriched in macrophages. How macrophage infiltration in WAT contributes to the complications of obesity is unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that recruitment of macrophages in omental WAT is associated with hepatic damage in obese patients.

Serum amyloid A: a marker of adiposity-induced low-grade inflammation but not of metabolic status.

Objective: Adipocytes secrete a series of acute phase proteins including serum amyloid A (SAA); the link with metabolic status is unknown. We studied the variations of expression of the SAA gene in adipose and liver tissues and of SAA serum levels, as well as their relationships with metabolic features during weight loss.

Research Methods And Procedures: Plasmatic variations of SAA, inflammatory markers (high sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, fibrinogen, and orosomucoid), and adipokines (adiponectin, leptin) were studied in 60 morbidly obese patients before and after gastric surgery.

Effects of transdermal testosterone application on the ovarian response to FSH in poor responders undergoing assisted reproduction technique--a prospective, randomized, double-blind study.

Background: In primates, androgens can play a synergistic role with FSH in promoting the early follicular recruitment, which is critical in assisted reproduction technique programmes.

Objective: To assess whether poor responders can benefit from androgen application.

Methods: Inclusion criteria were a previous poor ovarian response to controlled ovarian stimulation and a decreased hormonal ovarian reserve.

Weight loss reduces adipose tissue cathepsin S and its circulating levels in morbidly obese women.

Context: Human adipose tissue produces several adipokines, including the newly identified protein cathepsin S (CTSS), a cysteine protease involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Obesity is characterized by high levels of CTSS in the circulation and in sc white adipose tissue (scWAT).

Objective: We investigated the effect of surgery-induced weight loss on circulating CTSS and its protein expression in scWAT.

Leptin and old person's nutrition.

The leptin, protein of 146 amino acids, produced gene ob (chromosome 7) acts via the hypothalamus on the control of energy balance. It is implied in the adequacy between the food intake and the energy expenditure, and maintains stable body mass. We studied leptine's diurnal rhythm in old person of more than 75 years in institution, according to its state of nutrition and the undercurrent events likely to modify it.

Comparison of three in vitro culture systems for maturation of early preantral mouse ovarian follicles.

The aim of this study was to compare three different culture systems for in vitro follicular growth and oocyte maturation in ovarian follicles of mice in order to assess the technique with the optimal growth and improved rate of meiotic maturation. The three systems tested were culture under oil, on a hydrophobic membrane and on agar respectively. Early preantral follicles were cultured for 12 days in alpha-MEM GlutaMAX medium.

Cathepsin S, a novel biomarker of adiposity: relevance to atherogenesis.

The molecular mechanisms by which obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to identify candidate biomarkers overexpressed in adipose tissue of obese subjects that could link expanded fat mass to atherosclerosis. We compared gene expression profile in subcutaneous adipose tissue (scWAT) of 28 obese and 11 lean subjects using microarray technology.