Transcription factor SOHLH1 potentially associated with primary ovarian insufficiency.

Objective: To investigate whether gene variants of SOHLH1 exist in Chinese and Serbian patients with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI).

Design: Case-control genetic study.

Setting: University hospitals.

ISGE statement on oral emergency contraception.

Unintended pregnancy is an important public health problem worldwide. Unwanted pregnancies may end in induced abortion (legal or illegal, safe or unsafe) or in childbirth. In many parts of the world both can be life threatening.

Novel variants in the SOHLH2 gene are implicated in human premature ovarian failure.

Objective: To determine whether variants in the SOHLH2 gene contribute to human premature ovarian failure (POF) in different ethnicities.

Design: Case-control genetic study.

Setting: University hospitals.

Ethnic specificity of variants of the ESR1, HK3, BRSK1 genes and the 8q22.3 locus: no association with premature ovarian failure (POF) in Serbian women.

Objective: To identify whether variants found in a large Han Chinese cohort - 8q22.3 SNPs rs3847153 and rs3108910; and one SNP each in HK3 (rs2278493), ESR1 (rs2234693) and BRSK1 (rs12611091) - are associated with premature ovarian failure (POF) in a different ethnic group (Serbian).

Design: Case-control genetic association study in 197 Serbian POF cases and 552 matched controls.

Effectiveness of phytoestrogens in climacteric medicine.

The increased interest in phytoestrogens in the management of menopausal symptoms followed the publication of the Women's Health Initiative study. A wide-spread perception that these plant-derived compounds are equivalent to estrogen was established. These compounds evolved to fulfill the needs of plant physiological processes and are natural for the plant cells but not natural to the human cell.

Report on the 8th European Congress on Menopause.

The 8th European Congress on Menopause (EMAS), held 16-19 May 2009 in London, UK, was organized by the European Menopause and Andropause Society and hosted by the British Menopause Society (BMS). The Congress invited speakers from a range of European countries as well as some from the USA, Ecuador, Chile, Australia and South Africa, and attracted 1470 participants from over 70 countries as far afield as the Americas and East Asia.

Hormonal changes during menopause.

Ovarian senescence occurs gradually during the fourth and fifth decades of life, leading to menopause at an average age of about 51 years. This senescence results in a changing hormonal milieu, with decreases in the levels of estrogens and androgens. Similar changes may be induced by surgical menopause (bilateral oophorectomy) or ovarian failure resulting from cancer treatment.

Mechanism of androgen receptor action.

Recent research provides a much more detailed understanding of the role of the androgen receptor in normal human development and physiology, its structure, and its functioning. This review discusses genomic and non-genomic actions of the androgen receptor, as well as their co-regulators. We also explore several clinically relevant aspects of the molecular biology of the androgen receptor and its co-regulators.

Differing transcriptional responses to pulsed or continuous estradiol exposure in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

This study used human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) that were treated with 17beta-estradiol for 5 days as 1h pulse or 24h continuous treatment at concentrations such that the 24h exposure (concentration x time) was identical in both conditions. Cell proliferation was studied and gene expression profiling was carried out using the Affymetrix GeneChip microarray analysis. Changes in morphology and apoptosis in HUVECs were examined with electron microscopy.

Changes in transcription profile and cytoskeleton morphology in pelvic ligament fibroblasts in response to stretch: the effects of estradiol and levormeloxifene.

Failure of ligamentous support of the genital tract to resist intra-abdominal pressure is a plausible underlying mechanism for the development of pelvic organ prolapse, but the nature of the molecular response of pelvic tissue support remains unknown. We hypothesized that the expression of genes coding for proteins involved in maintaining the cellular and extracellular integrity would be altered as a result of mechanical stretch. Therefore, cDNA microarrays were used to examine the difference in transcriptional profile in RNA of primary culture fibroblasts subjected to mechanical stretch and those that remained static.

Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in women.

Osteoporosis affects one in three women. There has been some confusion among women and health professionals about the management of osteoporosis since the publication of the Women's Health Initiative and Million Women studies. This guidance regarding estrogen-based and non-estrogen-based treatments for osteoporosis responds to the controversies about the benefits and risks of individual agents.

Current state of hormone replacement therapy: the case for using trimegestone.

Estrogen deficiency has a negative impact on the quality of life of postmenopausal women and is associated with vasomotor symptoms, insomnia and emotional lability. Other manifestations of estrogen deficiency include dry skin, dry vagina and dyspareunia, in addition to bone loss. Estrogen replacement effectively reverses these changes.

Which progestogen is more likely to increase the risk of fatal myocardial infarction: a combination of epidemiological and trial evidence.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of metabolic effects of different progestogens on the risk of fatal myocardial infarction is evaluated.

Methods: The changes in (apo)lipoproteins obtained from a randomized trial of three hormone therapy regimens were applied to three models for predicting fatal myocardial infarction derived from the apolipoprotein-related mortality risk (AMORIS) study. In our trial, 487 postmenopausal women were randomized to oral estradiol, with sequential addition of two trimegestone (TMG) doses or norethisterone acetate (NETA), and studied at baseline and after 3, 6, and 12 months.

Quantitative histomorphometric analysis of gonadal steroid receptor distribution in the normal human endometrium through the menstrual cycle.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the distribution of oestrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) and androgen receptor (AR) are related to cell proliferation or correlated with the expression of progesterone receptor (PR) or oestrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in the normal human endometrium. Immunohistochemical distribution of immunoreactive ERbeta in well-characterised menstrual cycle biopsy samples was lowest in proliferative endometrial glands, highest in early secretory phase glands and maintained at approximately 20% throughout the rest of the menstrual cycle and was closely correlated with stromal AR and stromal ERbeta expression. Stromal ERbeta was not significantly altered until the menstrual phase of the cycle and was not correlated with the expression of any other antigen in the stroma or endometrial glands except stromal AR.

Climacteric medicine: European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) 2004/2005 position statements on peri- and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy.

In women experiencing distressing climacteric symptoms during the peri- and postmenopause there is conclusive evidence from abundant randomised controlled trials that systemic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) of any type affords symptom relief, with no alternative treatment producing similar effect. Though this evidence is accumulating, the question of how to provide best clinical practice in an attempt to both alleviate the menopausal symptoms and prevent the more long-term postmenopausal degenerative diseases is still under debate. When providing climacteric medicine, the dose and regimen of HRT needs to be individualised based on the principle of choosing the lowest appropriate dose in relation to severity of symptoms and on the menopausal age.

Bone mineral density in postmenopausal women treated with a vaginal ring delivering systemic doses of estradiol acetate.

Objective: To evaluate the effect on bone mineral density of vaginal rings delivering estradiol acetate at two systemic doses versus a locally active vaginal ring in healthy postmenopausal women.

Design: A total of 174 postmenopausal women (younger than age 65 years) were randomly assigned to a 0.05 mg/day vaginal ring, 0.

Neonatal tamoxifen treatment of mice leads to adenomyosis but not uterine cancer.

Tamoxifen is contraindicated during pregnancy but many births have been reported in breast cancer patients taking this drug and numbers might be expected to increase with FDA approval of tamoxifen for risk reduction in women at high, risk of breast cancer. The neonatal mouse, exquisitely sensitive to xenobiotic estrogens, has been used to investigate the effects of short-term oral dosing with tamoxifen (1 mg/kg on days 2-5 after birth) on long-term changes in uterine pathology and gene expression. Increased adenomyosis incidence and severity was evident in the tamoxifen-treated mice with increasing age.

Efficacy and safety of a new, chromatographically purified rhesus (D) immunoglobulin.

Objectives: To study the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the 300 microg dose of a new chromatographically produced rhesus immunoglobulin (Rhophylac 300) for ante- and postnatal rhesus prophylaxis.

Design: In an open-label multi-centre study, rhesus D (RhD)-negative women were randomly allocated to receive Rhophylac 300 either intravenously or intramuscularly at the 28th week of gestation and within 72 h after delivery of an RhD-positive child. Serum samples were obtained prior to the antenatal dose and 6-11.