Influence of endogenous estradiol, progesterone, allopregnanolone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate on brain resting state functional connectivity across the menstrual cycle.

Objective: To [1] study brain resting state functional connectivity (Rs-FC) in a well-characterized sample of healthy women in the mid-follicular and late luteal phases of the menstrual cycle; and [2] examine the correlation between endogenous E, P, allopregnanolone, and DHEAS and patterns of Rs-FC across the menstrual cycle.

Design: We studied the Rs-FC of the default mode network, salience network, meso-paralimbic network, fronto-parietal network, visual network, and sensorimotor network in the mid-follicular and late luteal phases. Serum levels of E, P, allopregnanolone, and DHEAS were correlated to patterns of functional connectivity.

A statistical method to calculate blood contamination in the measurement of salivary hormones in healthy women.

Objectives: Previous studies have reported that salivary concentrations of certain hormones correlate with their respective serum levels. However, most of these studies did not control for potential blood contamination in saliva. In the present study we developed a statistical method to test the amount of blood contamination that needs to be avoided in saliva samples for the following hormones: cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone and oxytocin.

Relationship between inflammatory biomarkers and depressive symptoms during late pregnancy and the early postpartum period: a longitudinal study.

Objective: Perinatal depressive symptoms often co-occur with other inflammatory morbidities of pregnancy. The goals of our study were 1) to examine whether changes in inflammatory markers from the third trimester of pregnancy to 12 weeks postpartum were associated with changes in depressive symptoms; 2) to examine whether third trimester inflammatory markers alone were predictive of postpartum depressive symptoms; and 3) to examine the relationship between inflammatory markers and depressive symptoms during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 12 weeks postpartum.

Methods: Thirty-three healthy pregnant women were recruited from the Women's Health Concerns Clinic at St.