[Second edition of the Diagnostic compass].

The second edition of the Diagnostic compass once more aims at contributing to rational use of accessory diagnostic techniques. The target group of the book consists of all physicians directly or indirectly involved in diagnosing patients clinical chemists and--from this second edition onwards--senior medical students. The number of clinical problems in the first part of the book is extended from 111 to 229.

The effects of continuous combined transdermal oestrogen-progestogen treatment on bleeding patterns and the endometrium in postmenopausal women.

Fifty postmenopausal women requiring hormone replacement therapy for the treatment of climacteric symptoms were recruited in six centers. All patients received a new combined norethisterone acetate (NETA)/oestradiol (E2)-TTS, (Estragest TTS, Ciba-Geigy Ltd), delivering 0.25 mg NETA and 50 micrograms E2 per day, continuously for 12 calendar months.

The flush revisited.

A nadir of LH precedes the onset of the flush and a flush is never seen without an LH pulse. However, after surgical and medical (GnRH agonist) hypophysectomy flushing occurs while LH is absent, thus LH itself is not the cause of the flush. GnRH agonist treatment induces low LH, whereas flushes remain, even when oestrogens are supplemented, suggesting that GnRH itself is the mediator.

Impact of different GnRH analogs in benign gynecological disorders related to their chemical structure, delivery systems and dose.

This review addresses the question of whether the different gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists in clinical use might have different impacts, related to their chemical structure, delivery system and dose. Impact was investigated in benign gynecological disorders, i.e.

A comparative multicenter study of two transdermal estradiol replacement therapies in the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms.

Objective: Comparison of the effects of treatment of two transdermal therapeutic systems for estrogen replacement therapy with regard to efficacy, tolerability, and acceptance.

Design: Open randomized.

Setting: Multicenter.

Symptom-free interval after triptorelin treatment of uterine fibroids: long-term results.

An increasing number of publications document regression of fibroids under treatment with gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists. However, recurrence after stopping treatment regularly counterbalances its benefit. We now report on 28 patients with intramural myomas, treated with triptorelin for 4-6 months and followed for 42-56 months.

Rapid reduction of uterine leiomyomas with monthly injections of D-Trp6-GnRH.

Ten women with intramural leiomyomas were treated with the microencapsulated GnRH analogue Decapeptyl for 24 weeks. Four (4) mg Decapeptyl was injected, starting on day 21 of the menstrual cycle, and injections were repeated every 4 weeks for a total of 24 weeks. All patients showed a marked reduction in uterine size: before treatment it measured 284 +/- 57 cm3, after 8 weeks 122 +/- 33 cm3, and after 24 weeks 89 +/- 14 cm3.

Miconazole in the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis: comparison of a 6-day therapy and a 3-day treatment course.

In a double-blind trial, 119 patients showing symptoms of Candida vulvovaginitis were treated with either 200 mg miconazole once daily for 6 days (A) or 400 mg miconazole once daily for 3 days (B), inserted intravaginally by means of a Scherer capsule. The efficacy was evaluated in 54 patients. A mycological cure rate was obtained in 93% of 29 patients from group A and in 80% of 25 patients from group B.

Formation of HCG in the human fetoplacental unit.

HCG and beta-HCG were determined in umbilical arterial and venous blood immediately after spontaneous term delivery. HCG and beta-HCG are present in higher concentrations in arterial than in venous umbilical cord blood. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that HCG and beta-HCG are produced in the fetal compartment of the human fetoplacental unit, with a larger contribution of the female fetus as compared with the male.

Inhibition of lactation and ovarian function: a possible animal experimental model for humans.

Lactating Texel ewes are hyperprolactinemic. Hyperprolactinemia persists for at least the first 50 h after weaning, when the udder is swollen and tender. Oral administration of bromocriptine lowers hyperprolactinemia dramatically within 4 h, correlated with 'shrinking' of the udder.