Pictorial methods to assess heavy menstrual bleeding in research and clinical practice: a systematic literature review.

Background: Pictorial blood loss assessment charts (PBACs) represent the most widely used method to assess menstrual blood loss (MBL) in clinical trials. The aims of this review were to: (1) determine the diagnostic accuracy of PBACs that have been validated against the reference alkaline hematin technique; (2) categorize the pitfalls of using obsolete and nonvalidated charts; (3) provide guidelines for development of a new PBAC or use of an existing chart to measure MBL in clinical trials; and (4) consider the feasibility of using pictorial charts in primary care.

Methods: A literature review was conducted using Embase and MEDLINE databases.

A systematic review of methods to measure menstrual blood loss.

Background: Since the publication over 50 years ago of the alkaline hematin method for quantifying menstrual blood loss (MBL) many new approaches have been developed to assess MBL. The aim of this systematic review is to determine for methods of measuring MBL: ability to distinguish between normal and heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB); practicalities and limitations in the research setting; and suitability for diagnosing HMB in routine clinical practice.

Methods: Embase®™, MEDLINE®, and ClinicalTrials.

Validation of a new menstrual pictogram (superabsorbent polymer-c version) for use with ultraslim towels that contain superabsorbent polymers.

Objective: To validate the menstrual pictogram (superabsorbent polymer-c version) for Always Ultra-slim feminine towels containing superabsorbent polymers.

Design: Prospective, multicenter, evaluator-blinded study.

Setting: Three gynecology research clinics in the United Kingdom.

A new menstrual pictogram for use with feminine products that contain superabsorbent polymers.

Objective: To determine whether the menstrual pictogram (the superabsorbent polymer-c or SAP-c version) can reliably estimate blood and total menstrual fluid volumes on prestained Always Ultra slim feminine towels (Proctor & Gamble) that contain superabsorbent polymers.

Design: Randomized blinded study using simulated menstrual fluid (SMF: 50% blood, 50% saline mixture).

Setting: Gynecology research clinic.

Validation of a rapid alkaline hematin technique to measure menstrual blood loss on feminine towels containing superabsorbent polymers.

Objective: To validate the semiautomated alkaline hematin technique for rapid measurement of menstrual blood loss on ultrathin sanitary towels with a superabsorbent polymer component.

Design: Laboratory study using simulated menstrual fluid (SMF) and Always Ultra Normal, Long, and Night "with wings" sanitary towels.

Setting: Laboratorium für Klinische Forschung, Germany.

Characterisation of myosin heavy chain gene variants in the fast and slow muscle fibres of gammarid amphipods.

Recent molecular work has revealed a large diversity of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) gene variants in the abdominal musculature of gammarid amphipods. An unusual truncated MyHC transcript from the loop 1 region (Variant A(3)) was consistently observed in multiple species and populations. The current study aimed to determine whether this MyHC variant is specific to a particular muscle fibre type, as a change in net charge to the loop 1 region of Variant A(3) could be functionally significant.

Controlled differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells using magnetic nanoparticle technology.

Targeting and differentiating stem cells at sites of injury and repair is an exciting and promising area for disease treatment and reparative medicine. We have investigated remote magnetic field activation of magnetic nanoparticle-tagged mechanosensitive receptors on the cell membrane of human bone marrow stromal cells (HBMSCs) for use in osteoprogenitor cell delivery systems and activation of differentiation in vitro and in vivo toward an osteochondral lineage. HBMSC-labeled with magnetic beads coated with antibodies or peptides to the transmembrane ion channel stretch activated potassium channel (TREK-1) or arginine–glycine–aspartic acid were cultured in monolayer or encapsulated into polysaccharide alginate/chitosan microcapsules.

Analysis of the serotonin transporter promoter rs25531 polymorphism in premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether the functional rs25531 promoter polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene is associated with premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Study Design: The study sample comprised 53 women with clinically diagnosed premenstrual dysphoric disorder (age range, 27-46 years; mean, 37.7 years) and 52 healthy control subjects (age range, 22-48 years; mean, 36.

Menstrual blood loss measurement: validation of the alkaline hematin technique for feminine hygiene products containing superabsorbent polymers.

Objective: To validate the alkaline hematin technique for measurement of menstrual blood loss using ultra-thin sanitary towels that contain superabsorbent polymer granules as the absorptive agent.

Design: Laboratory study using simulated menstrual fluid (SMF) and Always Ultra Normal, Long, and Night "with wings" sanitary towels.

Setting: Keele Menstrual Disorders Laboratory.

Linking functional molecular variation with environmental gradients: myosin gene diversity in a crustacean broadly distributed across variable thermal environments.

To investigate the molecular basis of temperature adaptation in natural populations we used the candidate gene approach, targeting the myosin heavy chain (MyHC) gene. The functional effects of genetic variation in MyHC have been well characterised, and changes in the flexibility of the surface loops 1 and 2, caused by modulations in length, amino acid composition and charge can play an important role in thermal acclimation in fish. However, the extent that MyHC diversity is influenced by natural thermal gradients is largely unknown.

Serotonin receptor 1A C(-1019)G polymorphism associated with premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Objective: To assess whether the G allele of the serotonin receptor 1A C(-1019)G polymorphism is associated with premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Methods: The study sample comprised 53 women with clinically diagnosed premenstrual dysphoric disorder (age range 27-46 years, mean 37.7 years) and 51 healthy control subjects (age range 22-48 years, mean 36.

Serotonin transporter, tryptophan hydroxylase, and monoamine oxidase A gene polymorphisms in premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether common polymorphisms of key genes that control the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) pathway are associated with premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Study Design: The study sample comprised 53 women with clinically diagnosed premenstrual dysphoric disorder (age range, 27-46 years; mean age, 37.7 years) and 52 healthy control subjects (age range, 22-48 years; mean age, 36.

Increase of acetone emitted by urine in relation to ovulation.

Background: Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry allows trace gas quantification in exhaled breath and in the air/vapor above liquids (headspace) down to the 10 parts-per-billion level. During selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry investigation of the volatile compounds emitted by urine, high acetone levels were incidentally identified in the headspace of urine from healthy female volunteers around their mid-cycle. Hence, this study was designed to measure urine headspace acetone levels throughout the menstrual cycle.

Expression of the mechanosensitive 2PK+ channel TREK-1 in human osteoblasts.

TREK-1 is a mechanosensitive member of the two-pore domain potassium channel family (2PK+) that is also sensitive to lipids, free fatty acids (including arachidonic acid), temperature, intracellular pH, and a range of clinically relevant compounds including volatile anaesthetics. TREK-1 is known to be expressed at high levels in excitable tissues, such as the nervous system, the heart and smooth muscle, where it is believed to play a prominent role in controlling resting cell membrane potential and electrical excitability. In this report, we use RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry to confirm that human derived osteoblasts and MG63 cells express TREK-1 mRNA and protein.

Effects of substrate characteristics on bone cell response to the mechanical environment.

The effect of substrate characteristics on primary human bone cell response to mechanical loading was investigated in this study. The substrates comprised organic and inorganic materials with a range of hydrophilic and hydrophobic features. Substrate surface topography varied from smooth to particulate to porous.

Temperature-dependent developmental variation in lobster muscle myosin heavy chain isoforms.

The temperature- and developmental-regulation of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) expression and primary sequence was investigated in the abdominal musculature of developing Homarus gammarus larvae acclimated to 10, 14 and 19+/-1 degrees C. MyHC loop 1 (ATP binding) and loop 2 (actin binding) regions were sequenced and compared. The deduced amino acid sequence of MyHC loop 1 showed a development-related increase in net charge from +1 to +2 between larval stages 1 and 2, which was not temperature-dependent.

Development of a 'mechano-active' scaffold for tissue engineering.

In this study. we investigate the potential for manipulating bone cell mechanotransducers in tissue engineering. Membrane ion channels such as voltage operated calcium channels (VOCC) have been shown to be a critical component of the bone cell transduction pathway with agonists and inhibitors of this pathway having profound effects on the load signal.

Comparison of the variable loop regions of myosin heavy chain genes from Antarctic and temperate isopods.

The evolutionary adaptations of functional genes to life at low temperatures are not well characterised in marine and fresh water invertebrates. Temperature has been shown to affect the functional characteristics of fish muscles, with changes in the velocity of shortening and ATPase activity being associated with myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoform composition and the structure of the surface loop regions. Two PCR products spanning loops 1 and 2 of a MyHC gene from an Antarctic isopod (Glyptonotus antarcticus) were sequenced and compared with those of a temperate isopod (Idotea resecata), slow and fast fibres from lobster (Homarus gammarus) and a cold water amphipod (Eulimnogammarus verrucosus), revealing specific differences between the species, possibly related to fibre type and habitat temperature.

Nicotinic regulation of c-fos and osteopontin expression in human-derived osteoblast-like cells and human trabecular bone organ culture.

Long-term in vivo studies have highlighted smoking as a risk factor in postmenopausal osteoporosis, bone fracture incidence, and increased nonunion rates. In contrast, there are few data postulating the effects of smoking at the cellular level in human skeletal tissue. In this study, we present novel evidence demonstrating that the nicotinic receptor alpha4 subunit is present in human primary bone cells by using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Hormonally-regulated expression of voltage-operated Ca(2+) channels in osteocytic (MLO-Y4) cells.

Voltage operated calcium channels (VOCCs) are important in stimulus-response coupling in osteoblasts. We have investigated the expression of VOCCs in the mouse osteocyte cell line, MLO-Y4. Using the whole-cell patch clamp technique we were unable to detect any VOCC currents (n = 436) even in the presence of the L-type VOCC agonist Bay K 8644 (n = 350).

Production of cysteinyl-dopamine during intravenous dopamine therapy.

Background: Oxidized dopamine rapidly forms thiol-conjugates with --SH groups on cysteine, glutathione, and proteins. We used cysteinyl-dopamine production as an index of thioester production during intravenous dopamine treatment of critically ill patients.

Methods: Cysteinyl-dopamine and catecholamines were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

Selected contribution: regulatory pathways involved in mechanical induction of c-fos gene expression in bone cells.

The regulatory pathways involved in the rapid response of the AP-1 transcription factor, c-fos, to mechanical load in human primary osteoblast-like (HOB) cells and the human MG-63 bone cell line were investigated using a four-point bending model. HOB and MG-63 cells showed upregulation of c-fos expression on fibronectin and collagen type I substrates; however, MG-63 cells did not respond on laminin YIGSR substrates. Addition of cytochalasin D and Arg-Gly-Asp peptides during loading did not inhibit the response, whereas addition of beta(1)-integrin antibodies inhibited the load response.

Sequence analysis and transcript expression of the MEN1 gene in sporadic pituitary tumours.

The majority of pituitary tumours are monoclonal in origin and arise sporadically or occasionally as part of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). Whilst a multi-step aetiology involving both oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes has been proposed for their development, the target(s) of these changes are less clearly defined. Both familial and sporadic pituitary tumours have been shown to harbour allelic deletion on 11q13, which is the location of the recently cloned MEN1 gene.