[Obesity and pregnancy].

As the prevalence of obesity is currently increasing in Western countries, maternal obesity is one of the most frequently encountered high-risk obstetrical situations. Pregnancies in obese women are characterized by a high incidence of maternal (gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders) and fetal (macrosomia, neural tube defects, late fetal deaths) complications. Because of those complications, cesarean sections rate is higher in obese women than in lean women.

Obesity and pregnancy: complications and cost.

The prevalence of obesity is currently rising in developed countries, making pregravid overweight one of the most common high-risk obstetric situations. Although the designs and populations of published studies vary widely, most authors agree that pregravid overweight increases maternal and fetal morbidity. Even moderate overweight is a risk factor for gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and the risk is higher in subjects with overt obesity.

[How to assess ovarian reserve in 1999?].

Fertility and results of infertility therapies are submitted to amajor drop in relation with the age of the female patient and her so-called ovarian reserve. Although there is no clear definition of what is exactly the ovarian reserve, the consequence of its decline is a greater difficulty to produce ovocytes with a capacity of becoming living embryos after fertilization. Several tests have been developed to assess the ovarian reserve in order to evaluate the prognosis of spontaneous fertility, the results of infertility therapy and assisted procreation techniques, and to make necessary technical adaptations.

Vascular complications of diabetes mellitus: what role for phospholipid-binding antibodies?

Vascular complications are the main cause of morbidity in diabetes mellitus. However, the risk factors for vascular disease remain incompletely elucidated. It has been previously suggested that factors other than glycemia may contribute to the development of vasculopathy.

TSH suppression combined with carbimazole for Graves' disease: effect on remission and relapse rates.

Objective: We studied the influence of TSH suppressive therapy combined with carbimazole (CBZ) on treatment outcome in Graves' disease.

Design: Open non-randomized prospective study.

Setting: University Hospital of Montpellier, France.