Estrogen as an adjuvant therapy to antipsychotics does not prevent relapse in women suffering from schizophrenia: results of a placebo-controlled double-blind study.

The expected therapeutic effect of estrogen as an adjunct treatment to antipsychotics in women suffering from schizophrenia for relapse prevention was to be tested under real-life conditions. A multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over study based on an A-B-A-B (and/or B-A-B-A) design was applied. Forty-six hypoestrogenic women with schizophrenia hospitalized for the first time or repeatedly were included in the study.

Use of serum inhibin B levels at the start of ovarian stimulation and at oocyte pickup in the prediction of assisted reproduction treatment outcome.

Objective: To assess whether serum inhibin B levels before gonadotropin administration and at oocyte pickup (OPU) are associated with pregnancy.

Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Setting: University-based IVF program.

Plasma concentrations of estradiol in women suffering from schizophrenia treated with conventional versus atypical antipsychotics.

Background: Low estrogen levels leading to an elevated rate of menstrual dysfunctions such as amenorrhea and irregular menstruation have been described in women with schizophrenia and have often been attributed to antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia. However, there is some evidence that "hypoestrogenism" in schizophrenic women does not occur exclusively under medication with hyperprolactinemia-inducing antipsychotics. While the precise mechanism of low estrogen levels in schizophrenic women has not been elucidated yet, "hypoestrogenism" is of clinical relevance because estrogen seems to endow an antipsychotic-like effect in schizophrenia and thus positively affect the course of illness in schizophrenic women.

Chronic fluoxetine suppresses circulating estrogen and the enhanced spatial learning of estrogen-treated ovariectomized rats.

We are interested in developing animal models to evaluate cognitive processes as influenced by the interplay of steroidal hormones and drugs commonly used in psychotherapy. Two experiments with female rats were conducted to evaluate the interaction of estrogen with the serotonin specific reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine on spatial learning and memory and on the endocrine system. In experiment 1, estrogen (50 microg estradiol benzoate/kg body weight) was administered SC to young adult, ovariectomized (OVX) rats either alone or in combination with fluoxetine (2 mg/kg SC).

Use of serum inhibin A and human chorionic gonadotropin measurements to predict the outcome of in vitro fertilization pregnancies.

Objective: To assess the clinical value of maternal serum inhibin A measurements in early pregnancy in the prediction of outcome of IVF pregnancies and to compare the predictive accuracy of inhibin A concentrations with serum hCG concentrations.

Design: Retrospective study.University-based IVF program.

Hippocampal glucose metabolism is associated with cerebrospinal fluid estrogen levels in postmenopausal women with Alzheimer's disease.

Animal studies indicate that estrogens, such as 17beta-estradiol (E(2)), may enhance hippocampal metabolism and function. In postmenopausal Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) E(2) levels were significantly lower than in non-demented controls. This finding was inversely correlated with CSF beta-amyloid levels.

Neuroendocrine changes in patients with acute space occupying ischaemic stroke.

Objective: To evaluate neuroendocrine changes in critical care patients with acute space occupying hemispheric stroke.

Methods: 22 patients with acute space occupying hemispheric stroke were studied (mean age 57.7 years; five women, 17 men).

C3 in seminal plasma has no additional informative value in the diagnosis of infection/inflammation of the male genital tract.

The objective of this study was to determine the clinical significance of complement fraction C3 (C3c) in seminal plasma. Therefore 120 samples from randomly chosen subfertile males without signs of genital tract infection were screened for C3 and for seminal leucocytes as markers for subclinical infection/inflammation. A comprehensive semen evaluation included sperm analysis, sperm migration testing, immunocytochemical round cell differentiation to determine seminal leucocyte counts and the leucocyte ratio and semen cultures, in aliquots of the same ejaculates.

Impact of obesity and leptin levels on the secretion of estradiol, inhibin A and inhibin B during ovarian stimulation with gonadotropins.

We examined the impact of high leptin levels on the secretion of estradiol, inhibin A and inhibin B in obese and lean women during ovarian stimulation. Patients undergoing long-term pituitary suppression, ovarian stimulation and in vitro fertilization for non-endocrine reasons were included in this case-control study. Obese women (body mass index (BMI) > 28 kg/m(2); n = 17) were individually matched with lean women (BMI 20-25 kg/m(2); n = 17) for age and baseline follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone concentrations.

Factors influencing the prognostic role of oestrogen and progesterone receptor levels in breast cancer--results of the analysis of 670 patients with 11 years of follow-up.

In the last two decades, the prognostic role of the steroid hormone receptors has been the subject of a myriad of publications. Nevertheless, its relevance after long-term follow-up is still not clear. The confusion about the prognostic value is mainly due to the difficulty in comparing analyses.

Reduced cerebrospinal fluid estradiol levels are associated with increased beta-amyloid levels in female patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Recent in-vitro studies indicate that estrogens such as 17beta-estradiol (E2) may decrease the production of beta-amyloid 1-42 (Abeta42), a peptide central for the formation of senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD). To test this hypothesis in a clinical study, cerebrospinal fluid levels of E2 were compared between 30 female AD patients and 11 female patients with non-dementing diseases such as major depression and investigated with respect to beta-amyloid 1-40 and Abeta42 levels. E2 levels were significantly (P<0.

Dehydroepiandrosterone stimulates proliferation and gene expression in MCF-7 cells after conversion to estradiol.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a mitogen for estrogen-dependent MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Our aims were to determine whether DHEA required conversion to estrogens in order to stimulate cell proliferation and estrogen-dependent gene expression. After incubation of cells with 100 nM DHEA for 4 days, estradiol was present in the medium at a concentration of approximately 200 pM.

[The effects of hormone replacement therapy on ovarian function in premenopausal women after hysterectomy].

Objective: Examining the consequences of temporary postoperative hormone replacement therapy following hysterectomy for the function of the ovaries and the subjective well-being of women.

Material And Methods: Hormone profiles (Estradiol, FSH, LH, Testosterone, DHEA) and typical estradiol deficiency phenomena were investigated prospectively in premenopausal hysterectomized women with intact ovaries. Group 1 (n = 21) was replaced transdermally following surgery for 3 weeks with estradiol patch 0.

Role of leukotriene C4 in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion in female rat pituitary.

Leukotriene C4, at doses of 0.01 and 0.1 nmol/l added to superfused cells in pulse of 4-min duration, evoked follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) release up to 12- to 26-fold of basal secretion.

The Acridine Orange test: a clinically relevant screening method for sperm quality during infertility investigation?

To determine the clinical usefulness of Acridine Orange (AO) staining of spermatozoa as a screening test for the evaluation of semen quality during basic infertility investigation, semen smears from 103 randomly chosen males of subfertile couples were examined. The median duration of infertility was 4.5 years (range 1-15) and the median age was 33 years (range 21-43).

[Hormone profile of elderly women and potential modifiers].

In 136 women with a median age of 78 (60-98) years the serum concentrations of FSH, LH, prolactin, estradiol-17 beta, testosterone and DHEA-S were determined completed by GnRH and ACTH stimulation tests in a subgroup. This resulted in median values for FSH of 15.8 ng/ml, LH 6.

Evaluation of polyacrylamide gel as substitute for human cervical mucus in the sperm penetration test.

Objective: To compare polyacrylamide gel as synthetic medium with human cervical mucus (CM) for the in vitro sperm-penetration test during infertility investigation.

Patients: One hundred sixty-nine randomly chosen couples with a median duration of infertility of 4 (range, 1 to 16) years presenting at the infertility unit of the Women's University Hospital of Heidelberg, Germany.

Main Outcome Measures: Evaluation of sperm migration in polyacrylamide gel used in four different concentrations (1.

Serum inhibin levels in gonadotrophin stimulated in-vitro fertilization/gamete intra-fallopian transfer cycles.

Serum inhibin concentrations of 64 cycles of in-vitro fertilization--embryo transfer (IVF-ET) or gamete intra-Fallopian transfer (GIFT) have been analysed retrospectively. No significant difference was observed in serum inhibin levels of cycles stimulated with buserelin and human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG) or HMG alone. During the late follicular phase, serum inhibin was higher in cycles resulting in pregnancy than in cycles without a pregnancy (peak values on day +1: 8.

Influence of reducing luxury calories in the treatment of experimental mammary carcinoma.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of dietary calorie intake at three different fat levels on (a) the growth of established methylnitrosourea (MNU)-induced mammary carcinoma, (b) the reappearance of mammary carcinomas after surgical removal, and (c) the growth of manifest lesions in animals treated with the cytostatic agent hexadecylphosphocholine (HPC). A reduction of calories by 30% significantly inhibited tumour growth of manifest mammary carcinomas in rats, without having a negative influence on body weight gain. After chemotherapeutic treatment no significant dietary influence was observed besides the high antineoplastic efficacy of HPC, but when feeding calorically restricted diets to surgically treated animals the number of reappearing tumours was considerably smaller (P = 0.

[Subjective complaints and hormonal reactions in the first 6 weeks after hysterectomy].

Hormone profiles (estradiol, testosterone, FSH, LH) and typical estradiol deficiency phenomena were investigated prospectively in the first 6 weeks after hysterectomy (n = 50) and after additional bilateral adnexectomy (n = 17). In the second group estradiol was replaced transdermally from the 2nd postoperative day (estradiol patch, 0.05 mg daily).

Multicenter evaluation of new enzyme-linked immunoassays of follitropin and lutropin in serum or plasma.

Results from a multicenter evaluation of two new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays [Enzymun-Test for follitropin (FSH) and lutropin (LH)] are presented and compared with results from 11 other commercial immunoassays, radioactive as well as nonradioactive. Enzymun-Test FSH and LH assays are suitable for automated systems and manual applications. The tests were reproducible (CV less than 5%), highly specific, and sensitive enough (less than 0.

The gene map of the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) and comparative mapping with mouse and man.

The current status of the rat gene map is presented. Mapping information is now available for a total of 214 loci and the number of mapped genes is increasing steadily. The corresponding number of loci quoted at HGM10 was 128.

Thyroid and ovarian function in infertile women.

The aim of this study was to examine more closely the interaction between thyroid function and pituitary--ovarian axis in infertile women. In 185 infertile women without clinical signs of thyroid dysfunction, TRH-tests (TSH basal and 30 min after 200 micrograms TRH i.v.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and metoclopramide testing in infertile women.

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) determinations before and after thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation were obtained in 834 infertile women, from 1982 until 1985. Thyroid function disturbances were seen in 20% of the women, in accordance with the prevalence in South Germany. Postcoital tests were significantly poorer in women with subclinical hypothyroidism than in euthyroid patients.

Characterization of leukotriene C4 binding in anterior pituitary membrane preparations.

Pituitary cells produce leukotrienes (LTs) and respond to exogenous administration of LTs by releasing gonadotropins. Specific high affinity leukotriene C4 (LTC4) binding has been found in membrane preparations of bovine anterior pituitaries. Unlabelled LTC4 displaced specific [3H]LTC4 binding.