Antenatal glucocorticoid therapy increases glucose delivery to cerebral circulations during acute hypoxemia in fetal sheep during late gestation.

Objective: To determine the effects of 2 maternal injections with dexamethasone on the calculated oxygen and glucose deliveries to fetal cerebral and peripheral circulations during acute hypoxemia in sheep.

Study Design: Beginning at 124 days, ewes received 2 intramuscular injections of either dexamethasone (2 x 12 mg, n = 10) or saline solution (2 x 2 mL, n = 12) 24 hours apart. Hypoxemia (1 hour) was induced 32 hours after the first injection (H1) and 3 days after the second (H2).

Alterations in saliva steroid hormone levels after oral mifepristone administration in women with pregnancies of greater than 41 weeks' gestation.

The objective of this study is to describe the effects of oral mifepristone administration on saliva levels of estradiol, estriol, progesterone, and cortisol in women with postdates pregnancy. As an adjunct to a randomized controlled trial comparing 200 mg oral mifepristone to placebo for cervical ripening and labor induction in women with pregnancies greater than 41 weeks' gestation, saliva samples were obtained before drug administration and every 6 hours thereafter for 24 hours. Estradiol, estriol, progesterone, and cortisol levels were measured by radioimmunoassay.

Inhibin B and anti-Mullerian hormone: markers of ovarian response in IVF/ICSI patients?

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) and inhibin B could be useful in predicting the ovarian response to gonadotrophin stimulation in assisted reproduction patients who are considered to be poor responders.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Fertility unit.

Pituitary-adrenal responses to acute hypoxemia during and after maternal dexamethasone treatment in sheep.

The effects of maternal dexamethasone treatment on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function were determined during basal and hypoxemic conditions in maternal and fetal sheep. Under halothane, ewes and their fetuses were catheterized at 117 d gestation (term = 145 d). Starting at 124 d, the ewes received i.

A novel therapy with testosterone and sildenafil for erectile dysfunction in patients on renal dialysis or after renal transplantation.

Background: We undertook a prospective pilot study in a small cohort of patients with renal replacement therapy to determine the cause of erectile dysfunction (ED) and evaluate the role of testosterone replacement therapy and sildenafil.

Methods: We investigated 12 patients (eight post-transplant and four on haemodialysis) who presented with ED for hypogonadism and cavernosal insufficiency. We assessed sexual performance before and after treatment by a questionnaire method based on the modified International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) rating.

Antenatal glucocorticoids reset the level of baseline and hypoxemia-induced pituitary-adrenal activity in the sheep fetus during late gestation.

This study examined the effects of dexamethasone treatment on basal hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function and HPA responses to subsequent acute hypoxemia in the ovine fetus during late gestation. Between 117 and 120 days (term: approximately 145 days), 12 fetal sheep and their mothers were catheterized under halothane anesthesia. From 124 days, 6 fetuses were continuously infused intravenously with dexamethasone (1.

Effect of nutritional restriction in early pregnancy on isolated femoral artery function in mid-gestation fetal sheep.

Unbalanced maternal nutrition affects fetal endocrine and cardiovascular systems, sometimes accompanied by changes in growth, although this is usually in late gestation. We determined the effect of moderate restriction for the first half of gestation of maternal dietary protein, or of total calorific intake on isolated resistance artery function of mid-gestation fetal sheep. Welsh Mountain ewes were nutritionally restricted by 30 % of the recommended nutrient intake (globally restricted) or 30 % of the recommended protein intake (protein-restricted), compared to control ewes fed 100 % of recommended nutrient intake, for ~12 days prior to conception and for the subsequent 70 days of gestation.

Effects of low dose dexamethasone treatment on basal cardiovascular and endocrine function in fetal sheep during late gestation.

This study investigated the effects on ovine fetal basal cardiovascular and endocrine functions of fetal intravenous dexamethasone treatment, resulting in circulating concentrations that were one-fifth of the values measured clinically in human infants following maternal antenatal glucocorticoid therapy. Between 117-120 days gestation (dGA; term: ca 145 dGA), 26 Welsh Mountain sheep fetuses were surgically prepared under general anaesthesia with vascular catheters and a Transonic flow probe positioned around a femoral artery. At 125 +/- 1 dGA, fetuses were infused with dexamethasone (2.