Matrix metalloproteinase-8 in cervical fluid in early and mid pregnancy: relation to spontaneous preterm delivery.

Objective: To evaluate whether matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) concentrations in cervical fluid in early and mid pregnancy are associated with subsequent preterm delivery (PTD) preceded by premature preterm rupture of membranes (PPROMs) or preterm labour (PTL) with intact membranes.

Methods: Cervical swab samples were collected from 5180 women in early and mid pregnancy. MMP-8 was determined by immunofluorometric assay (IFMA).

Factors affecting matrix metalloproteinase-8 levels in the vaginal and cervical fluids in the first and second trimester of pregnancy.

Background: Cervical ripening during pregnancy resembles an inflammatory process. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), particularly MMP-8, have been linked to inflammatory processes. We studied the concentrations of, and factors associated with, MMP-8 in the lower genital tract fluids in the first and second trimesters.

Cervical length measurement and cervical phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 testing in prediction of preterm birth in patients reporting uterine contractions.

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of cervical phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (phIGFBP-1) testing and cervical length measurement separately and in combination with physician's clinical judgment in prediction of preterm birth among patients with self-reported uterine contractions and intact membranes.

Design: We enrolled a total of 246 women between 22 and 34 weeks of gestation.

Methods: The initial evaluation included cervical length measurement using transvaginal ultrasonography.

Intrauterine release of progesterone antagonist ZK230211 is feasible and results in novel endometrial effects: a pilot study.

Background: Continuous administration of progesterone antagonists (PAs) results in endometrial suppression and amenorrhoea in several model systems. We compared the effects of intrauterine release of a highly specific PA, ZK230211, to those of a progestin using the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS).

Methods: Forty-two women were randomly fitted with an IUS releasing either ZK230211 at a rate 1, 4 or 8 microg/24 h (ZK-IUS) or LNG (at 20 microg/24 h, LNG-IUS) at 4-8 weeks before hysterectomy.

The insulin-like growth factor system and Type 1 diabetic retinopathy during pregnancy.

Aims/hypothesis: To find out whether the levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), IGF binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1), highly phosphorylated IGFBP-1 (hpIGFBP-1), and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) are related to the progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods: In a prospective study of 42 pregnant women with Type 1 diabetes and 9 nondiabetic controls, DR was graded from fundus photographs. Levels of serum total IGF-I and two different phosphoisoform patterns of IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3 were measured during the first and third trimester of pregnancy and 3 months postpartum.

Lack of effect of isoflavonoids on the vagina and endometrium in postmenopausal women.

Objective: To determine the effects of soy-derived isoflavones on vaginal epithelium and the endometrium.

Design: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial.

Setting: Outpatient clinic of a university hospital.

Differential kinetics of serum and cervical insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 during mifepristone-misoprostol-induced medical termination of early pregnancy.

The kinetics of cervical and circulating phosphoisoforms of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) in normal and pathological early pregnancy are not well known. We investigated the profiles of IGFBP-1 in serum and in cervical secretion during medical termination of early pregnancy. Sixteen women requesting termination of pregnancy, with <63 days of amenorrhoea, received 200 mg of mifepristone on day 0, followed by either oral or vaginal administration of 0.

Effects of ospemifene, a novel SERM, on vascular markers and function in healthy, postmenopausal women.

Objective: Ospemifene, a novel selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), shows promise for bone preservation in postmenopausal women. This study examined the effects of ospemifene on different vascular surrogate markers.

Design: A double-blinded study was conducted in 160 healthy, postmenopausal women who used, in a randomized order, ospemifene (at daily doses of 30, 60, or 90 mg) or placebo for 3 months.

Effects of ospemifene, a novel SERM, on hormones, genital tract, climacteric symptoms, and quality of life in postmenopausal women: a double-blind, randomized trial.

Objective: Ospemifene, a novel selective estrogen receptor modulator, shows a potential for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. We studied the effects of ospemifene on hormone levels, genital tract organs, climacteric symptoms, and quality of life.

Design: A double-blinded study in which 160 postmenopausal women were randomly allocated to receive either ospemifene at three different daily doses (30, 60, or 90 mg) or placebo for 3 months.

IGF-I, IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-3, phosphoisoforms of IGFBP-1, and postnatal growth in very low birth weight infants.

Impaired postnatal growth in very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500 g) infants is per se a major clinical challenge and may also serve as a model in studying the mechanisms of growth retardation in general. This study was undertaken to characterize the role of IGFs and their binding proteins (IGFBPs), key regulators of fetal and infant growth, during the postnatal period in VLBW infants. Forty-eight VLBW infants (gestational age 27.

Immunohistochemical localization of the insulinlike growth factor binding protein-1 in female reproductive tissues by monoclonal antibodies.

Human insulinlike growth factor binding protein-1 (hlGFBP-1) is a secretory protein that modulates the receptor-binding and biological actions of the insulinlike growth factor I (IGF-I). Human endometrium expresses the mRNA for IGFBP-1, and this protein is secreted by the secretory phase and pregnancy endometrium as well as by ovarian granulosa cells in vitro. In this study, we examined the cellular localization of IGFBP-1 in female reproductive tissues by using a purified monoclonal antibody Mab 6303 with an immunoperoxidase technique.