Increased serum levels of mBDNF in women with minimal and mild endometriosis have no predictive power for the disease.

The objective of our pilot clinical, prospective study was to determine the serum levels of mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor, in of women with endometriosis and controls and explore whether mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor is a potential biomarker for the disease. The patients were selected from the Endometriosis Marker Austria prospective cohort study conducted at the tertiary referral certified Endometriosis Center of the Medical University of Vienna. All women underwent laparoscopic surgery because there was a suspicion of endometriosis, or the women had pelvic pain, adnexal cysts, unexplained infertility, or uterine fibroids.

The Serum Levels of the Soluble Factors sCD40L and CXCL1 Are Not Indicative of Endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a benign but troublesome gynecological condition, characterized by endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity. Lately, the discovery and validation of noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers for endometriosis is one of the main priorities in the field. As the disease elicits a chronic inflammatory reaction, we focused our interest on two factors well known to be involved in inflammation and neoplastic processes, namely, soluble CD40 Ligand and CXCL1, and asked whether differences in the serum levels of sCD40L and CXCL1 in endometriosis patients versus controls can serve as noninvasive disease markers.

Nuclear medicine and breast cancer: a review of current strategies and novel therapies.

While breast cancer is still increasing in frequency, new diagnostic procedures are now available to challenge existing procedures and to make diagnosis of breast cancer more accurate and reliable. Mammography remains the standard investigation to reveal disease in an asymptomatic population: it can also be used to diagnose breast cancer in symptomatic patients (e.g.

Axillary lymph node dissection in pT1 breast cancer: a retrospective analysis of 315 patients and review of the literature.

Axillary lymph node status and pathologic features of the primary tumor are used to predict the prognosis and select appropriate adjuvant therapy for individual patients with breast cancer. The goal of our study is to identify a group of breast cancer patients who would not benefit from axillary dissection. We researched medical literature and conducted retrospective analyses of 315 consecutive postmenopausal women with breast tumors under 2.

Color Doppler sonography of the lateral thoracic (breast-feeding) arteries: a new approach to the diagnosis of breast disease?

Objective: The main arteries to the breast are the lateral thoracic artery and to a lesser extent the internal thoracic artery. In this prospective open diagnostic study involving 94 women, we compared the intraindividual differences of Doppler indices in the lateral thoracic (breast-feeding) artery of breasts affected by cancer with those unaffected by disease.

Methods: Sixty-seven consecutive patients were recruited from an outpatient unit for breast surgery and 27 volunteers were studied who were known to be without any breast disease (controls).

99m-Tc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy for the evaluation of suspicious palpable and non-palpable breast lesions.

Purpose: To assess the value of 99m-Tc-tetrofosmin (tetrofosmin) scintigraphy in patients with palpable and nonpalpable breast lesions.

Patients And Methods: Prospective, blinded trial. One hundred and fifty-nine consecutive patients with 163 breast lesions detected by clinical examination and mammography were included.

Electrical stimulation of the vestibular system prevents postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Background: Electrical stimulation of the vestibular system may prevent nausea and vomiting. We studied the influence of transcutaneous impulse stimulation in prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) following gynaecological surgery.

Methods: In this randomised study 70 women undergoing elective gynaecological surgery under general anaesthesia were assigned to receive either the activated (stimulation group) or the inactivated (non-stimulation group) impulse stimulator.

[Testicular feminization--sequelae of chronic neglect of a neoplastic process].

This paper reports on a 56-year-old patient with a history of "testicular feminization syndrome" who was admitted to hospital because of a rapid gain in her abdominal girth (106 cm). A benign cyst was removed laparotomically which, histologically, was equivalent to a cystadenofibroma. Based on this case report, the clinical significance of testicular feminization syndrome and the necessity for gonadectomy due to the risk of growth of a possibly malignant tumor are discussed.

Axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer: is size related to metastatic involvement?

Usually when using imaging procedures, such as axillary mammography or ultrasonography, a cutoff level of 5 mm for lymph node size is postulated to be not only the limit of lymph node visibility but also a sign of metastatic involvement. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether this assumption, used as a basic hypothesis in many reports, is true. A series of 72 axillary specimens from 71 breast carcinoma patients operated at the university hospital of Vienna were analyzed.

Use of 99mTc-furifosmin scintigraphy--planar and SPECT--to evaluate suggestive palpable and nonpalpable breast lesions.

Unlabelled: Our objective was to evaluate the role of 99mTc-furifosmin scintigraphy--planar and SPECT--in discriminating benign from malignant breast disease.

Methods: The trial was prospective, open, and diagnostic. We recruited 30 consecutive patients with 14 palpable and 16 nonpalpable breast lesions.

A head-to-head comparison between technetium-99m-tetrofosmin and technetium-99m-MIBI scintigraphy to evaluate suspicious breast lesions.

The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of technetium-99m-tetrofosmin and technetium-99m-MIBI in a head-to-head comparison. Both radiopharmaceuticals are routinely used for detecting breast cancer. In a prospective, open, diagnostic trial, the two radiopharmaceuticals were administered randomly on different days to the same 101 women suffering from 103 breast tumours.

[Placental isoferritin (PLF): early predictor of fetal growth retardation].

Objective: Maternal immunoreaction against the embryo can be responsible for fetal growth retardation. The secretion of PLF during pregnancy could be reliable for a diminished immunoreaction of maternal lymphocytes against the embryo. The aim of the present study was to elucidate a possible correlation between PLF and fetal growth retardation.

[Increased rate of spontaneous version in breech presentation by Indian bridge? A prospective, randomized study].

Background: The effectiveness of Indian version to convert fetuses from breech to vertex presentation was evaluated.

Methods: One hundred and nine pregnant women presenting between 30 and 32 weeks of gestation with singleton breech infants were included in our prospective randomized open study making an interim analysis recruitment to estimate the sample sizes after one year. The spontaneous version rate of fetuses in breech presentation was compared with the version rate in women performing Indian version.

Single-injection paravertebral block compared to general anaesthesia in breast surgery.

Background: Breast surgery is frequently associated with post-operative nausea, vomiting, pain and painful restricted movement. Paravertebral block may be an alternative to general anaesthesia for this type of surgery. We studied the single-injection paravertebral block at the level of T4 and report a comparison of single-injection paravertebral block to general anaesthesia for breast surgery.

Maternal cigarette smoking increases F2-isoprostanes and reduces prostacyclin and nitric oxide in umbilical vessels.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of smoking on F2-isoprostanes, prostacylin and nitric oxide in human umbilical vessels. Umbilical cords from 13 babies of smoking mothers and from 28 babies of non-smoking mothers were examined for levels of F2-isoprostanes, prostacyclin, L-arginine, and L-citrulline. Forty-one umbilical arteries and eleven umbilical veins were analyzed.

Identification of women with early breast cancer by analysis of p43-positive lymphocytes.

Regular screening mammographies and increasing knowledge of high-risk groups have resulted in an improvement in the rate of detection of smaller malignant lesions. However, uncertain minimal mammographic features frequently require further costly and often uncomfortable investigation, including repeat radiological controls or surgical procedures, before cancerous lesions can be identified. Placental isoferritin (p43), a protein with immunosuppressive effects, has been detected on the surface of lymphocytes taken from peripheral blood in patients with breast cancer.

Homocysteine--a pathophysiological cornerstone in obstetrical and gynaecological disorders?

Homocysteine, a product of the methionine cycle, is known to play an important role in cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders and embryology, and in very important, fast growing fields concerning obstetrics and gynaecology. Therefore, we attempted an actual overview on possible obstetrical and gynaecological disorders as a consequence of an impaired methionine cycle. We tried to evaluate all mechanisms concerning homocysteine metabolism in order to look for hypothetical possibilities of therapeutic interventions.

99m-Tc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy and breast cancer.

Background: 99m-Tc-tetrofosmin holds significant interest among medical oncologists because of its high positive predictive value (>90%) in pilot trials, exceeding sensitivity and specificity rates of mammography. Objective. Our objective was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of 99m-Tc-tetrofosmin whole-body scintigraphy in outpatients.

Axillary metastases of an occult primary carcinoma of the breast-discovered only by 99mTc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy.

Recent reports consider 99mTc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy to be a powerful new diagnostic tool for discriminating malignant from benign breast disease. We report on a woman suffering from histologically confirmed axillary metastases of a primary unknown, occult carcinoma, whose origin was suspected within the breast. All the diagnostic procedures performed to discover any lesion failed or were inconclusive.

An undetected reason for severe fetal growth retardation.

In a severely growth-retarded fetus, repeated Doppler ultrasound examinations from the 23rd week of gestation on, showed normal and highly pathological blood flow velocities in the umbilical artery. A caesarean section performed in the 39th week of gestation revealed two true umbilical cord knots. Sonographic screening for umbilical cord knots may be valuable in similar cases.

Breech infants: vaginal or cesarean delivery?

Background: This study was undertaken to determine whether planned vaginal or elective cesarean delivery is better for singleton term breech infants and their mothers.

Methods: We studied deliveries of 388 singleton term breech infants that were born in our teaching hospital in Vienna. We follow well defined criteria for vaginal delivery versus cesarean section of term breech fetuses.

A case of myocardial infarction complicating pregnancy--a role for prostacyclin synthesis stimulating plasma factor and lipoprotein (a)?

Coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction (MI) is rarely seen in women below the age of 40 years and even more rarely during pregnancy. The first case of MI during pregnancy was described by Katz in 1992 (1). Current literature reviewed by Samara et al.

[Axillary metastases of unknown primary carcinoma].

S.R., a 66-year old woman, was referred to our department because of an axillary mass in the right side.