Sentinel Node in Oral Cancer: The Nuclear Medicine Aspects. A Survey from the Sentinel European Node Trial.

Purpose: Nuclear imaging plays a crucial role in lymphatic mapping of oral cancer. This evaluation represents a subanalysis of the original multicenter SENT trial data set, involving 434 patients with T1-T2, N0, and M0 oral squamous cell carcinoma. The impact of acquisition techniques, tracer injection timing relative to surgery, and causes of false-negative rate were assessed.

Impact of chronodisruption during primate pregnancy on the maternal and newborn temperature rhythms.

Disruption of the maternal environment during pregnancy is a key contributor to offspring diseases that develop in adult life. To explore the impact of chronodisruption during pregnancy in primates, we exposed pregnant capuchin monkeys to constant light (eliminating the maternal melatonin rhythm) from the last third of gestation to term. Maternal temperature and activity circadian rhythms were assessed as well as the newborn temperature rhythm.

Effect of a single vaginal administration of levonorgestrel in Carraguard gel on the ovulatory process: a potential candidate for "dual protection" emergency contraception.

Objective: The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Carraguard vaginal gel containing 0.75 mg of levonorgestrel (CARRA/LNG gel) administered in a single dose at different stages of follicle development over subsequent follicle rupture and hormonal levels.

Method: Randomized, blinded, cross-over study comparing the effects of a single administration of CARRA/LNG gel or Carraguard (CARRA) gel.

Levonorgestrel pharmacokinetics in plasma and milk of lactating women who take 1.5 mg for emergency contraception.

Background: Progestin-only methods are among the contraceptive options available for breastfeeding women, however the doses of progestin used in emergency contraception (EC) have not been evaluated in nursing mothers. We therefore investigated the pharmacokinetics of 1.5 mg levonorgestrel (LNG) in lactating women.

Does meloxicam increase the incidence of anovulation induced by single administration of levonorgestrel in emergency contraception? A pilot study.

Background: Levonorgestrel (LNG) consistently prevents follicular rupture only when it is given before the onset of the ovulatory stimulus. As locally synthesized prostaglandin (PG) plays a crucial role in follicular rupture and cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) catalyses the final step of PG synthesis, we reasoned that adding a cox-2 inhibitor to LNG would prevent follicular rupture even after the ovulatory process had been triggered by the gonadotrophin surge.

Methods: Forty-one women were divided into two groups.

Feasibility study of Nestorone-ethinylestradiol vaginal contraceptive ring for emergency contraception.

Objective: The Nestorone/ethinylestradiol (NES/EE) vaginal ring is being developed as a regular contraceptive method by the Population Council. This ring is designed to release NES 150 microg/day and EE 15 microg/day during 1 year. Here, we report a Phase I clinical trial to determine the usefulness of this ring for emergency contraception.

Pituitary-ovarian function following the standard levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive dose or a single 0.75-mg dose given on the days preceding ovulation.

We assessed to what extent the standard dose of levonorgestrel (LNG), used for emergency contraception, or a single dose (half dose), given in the follicular phase, affects the ovulatory process during the ensuing 5-day period. Fifty-eight women were divided into three groups according to timing of treatment. Each woman contributed with three treatment cycles separated by resting cycles.

Maternal melatonin selectively inhibits cortisol production in the primate fetal adrenal gland.

We tested the hypothesis that in primates, maternal melatonin restrains fetal and newborn adrenal cortisol production. A functional G-protein-coupled MT1 membrane-bound melatonin receptor was detected in 90% gestation capuchin monkey fetal adrenals by (a) 2-[(125)I] iodomelatonin binding (K(d), 75.7 +/- 6.

mt1 Melatonin receptor in the primate adrenal gland: inhibition of adrenocorticotropin-stimulated cortisol production by melatonin.

The pineal hormone melatonin participates in circadian, seasonal, and reproductive physiology. The presence of melatonin binding sites in human brain and peripheral tissues is well documented. However, in the mammalian adrenal gland, low-affinity melatonin binding sites have been detected only in the rat by some but not all authors.

Perinatal neuroendocrine regulation. Development of the circadian time-keeping system.

During gestation, the perinatal neuroendocrine axis keeps clock time. In primates, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (biological clock in mammals), shows oscillatory function by midgestation. There is evidence in rodents that the mother, during pregnancy, entrains the fetal suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and newborn circadian rhythms.

The development of circadian rhythms in the fetus and neonate.

The circadian time-keeping system is the neural system that allows predictive adaptation of individuals to the reproducible 24-hour day/night alternations of our planet. A biological clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, receives environmental information and imposes a circadian pattern to physiological functions. Since the suprachiasmatic nucleus develops early in gestation and circadian rhythms are present in the fetus and newborn, the circadian system seems to be functional in fetal life and can receive circadian inputs through the mother.

Non-abortive effect of Adhatoda vasica spissum leaf extract by oral administration in rats.

The possible abortive effect of an extract of Adhatoda vasica leaf spissum, was studied in rats. The principal alkaloid detected in the extract was vasicine (0.85 ± 0.

A comparison of the pregnancy-terminating potencies of three anti-progestins in guinea-pigs, and the effects of sulprostone.

The anti-progestins mifepristone, lilopristone (ZK 98734) and HRP 2000 were equipotent at terminating the pregnancy of guinea-pigs during mid-gestation, although mifepristone was more effective at low doses. Sulprostone administration on the day following anti-progestin treatment tended to increase the effectiveness of mifepristone and HRP 2000, without affecting the time interval between the start of the anti-progestin treatment and the day of abortion. It is concluded that, of the three afferent anti-progestins used, none is more potent than the other two at terminating pregnancy in the animal model used.

Effects of RU486 on the ovarian response of immature rats to pregnant mare's serum gonadotrophin or diethylstilbestrol.

The purpose of this study was to further investigate the role of progesterone in follicular development induced by pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) or diethylstilbestrol (DES), in pre-pubertal rats, using RU486 to prevent the receptor-mediated actions of progesterone. Intact or hypophysectomized 26-day-old rats received either a single injection of 10 IU PMSG i.p.

Additive effect of RU 486 and anordrin on pregnancy interruption in the mouse.

The effect of various doses of anordrin and RU 486, alone or combined, on serum progesterone (P) levels, fetal resorption, and recovery of ovulation was studied in mice. Each drug was given as a single sc injection on day 7 of pregnancy and autopsy was performed on days 8, 9, or 11. Serum P was normal at 24 h but fell significantly 48 h after treatment with anordrin (0.

Increased secretion of adrenal progesterone explains the lack of response of oviductal embryo transport to a short intravenous infusion of estradiol in the rat.

Administration of estradiol (E2) as a single subcutaneous injection, but not as a short intravenous infusion (less than 150 min), accelerates oviductal embryo transport in pregnant rats although the first mode determines lower E2 circulating levels. Since progesterone (P) can antagonize the effect of E2 on embryo transport we examined the circulating P levels under these two modes of E2 administration. Rats were treated on day 1 of pregnancy with 5 micrograms E2 given s.

Effects of 4-hydroxyandrostenedione and exogenous testosterone on blood concentrations of oestradiol and oviducal embryo transport in the rat.

The effect of decreasing oestrogen secretion on the oviducal migration of embryos was investigated in pregnant rats. The reduction of oestradiol production was achieved by administration of the aromatase inhibitor 4-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,17-dione (4-OH-A) at various times after coitus. When 4-OH-A was administered from days 2 to 5, nearly half the embryos were retained in the oviducts at midday on day 5 of pregnancy, in contrast with control animals in which all embryos were transferred to the uterus.

Effectiveness of different estrogen pulses in plasma for accelerating ovum transport and their relation to estradiol levels in the rat oviduct.

Elevations of circulating estradiol (E2) levels due to administration of exogenous E2 accelerate embryo transport through the genital tract in pregnant rats. This study relates oviductal embryo transport to tissue E2 levels associated with blood E2 oscillations of differing profiles. Plasma E2 pulses differing in rate of increase, amplitude, and duration were achieved through various schedules of iv and sc E2 administration.

Ovum transport in cyclic rats rendered hypo-oestrogenic by treatment with 4-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,17-dione.

The effects of decreasing oestrogen secretion upon the rate of oocyte transport achieved by the administration of 4-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,17-dione were investigated in cyclic rats. Control animals examined during late pro-oestrus showed that the majority of oocytes had entered the uterus. In contrast, when inhibitor was administered from the afternoon of metoestrus or from late dioestrus through prooestrus, oviducal retention of oocytes was observed.

Role of ovarian and adrenal progesterone in the regulation of ovum transport in pregnant rats.

This study was designed to assess the role of postovulatory ovarian and adrenal progesterone secretion in the regulation of ovum transport in pregnant rats. The number and distribution of embryos in the genital tract and the plasma progesterone levels were determined during the first 5 days of pregnancy in ovariectomized (OVX), adrenalectomized (ADX), ovariectomized and adrenalectomized (OVX + ADX), intact control (IC), or sham-operated control (SOC) rats. Some OVX or OVX + ADX rats received subdermal implants of progesterone pellets following surgery.

Gonadotropin-inhibitory contaminants in partially purified pharmaceutical preparations of human chorionic gonadotropin.

Various commercial preparations of partially purified human chorionic gonadotropin, inactivated by heating, inhibited the uterine growth induced in immature mice with the same active gonadotropins as well as spontaneous uterine growth. The more purified preparations of chorionic gonadotropin failed to produce these effects after inactivation by boiling, suggesting that the inhibitory activity is not generated from gonadotropin by the procedure but may be related to some contaminant similar to the gonadotropin-inhibitory substance previously found in human urine.

Subcellular hypothalamic fractions active on ovulation and luteinizing hormone release in the rat.

Nuclear, microsomal and cytosol fractions were obtained from hypothalamic cells by differential centrifugation in sucrose solutions of different molarities. The nuclear fraction (NF) from immature female rats had an inhibitory effect on ovulation induced with pregnant mare's serum (PMS) in immature rats and with luteinizing hormone (LH) in chlorpromazine (CPZ)-treated proestrous rats. The microsomal fraction from the same rats increased both types of ovulation.