Effect of natural early menopause on bone mineral density.

Objectives: Early menopause (EM) is included among the risk factors for osteoporosis. Several studies have shown that women with early menopause have lower bone mineral density (BMD) than those with normal expected age of menopause. The aim of our cross-sectional study was to investigate the effects of time of menopause on vertebral bone mass in healthy postmenopausal women and to evaluate if early menopause is a risk factor for lower vertebral BMD.

Glucocorticoid receptor gene polymorphisms in premenopausal women with major depression.

Glucocorticoid receptor gene polymorphisms are associated with glucocorticoid hypersensitivity and visceral obesity. Perturbations in HPA axis sensitivity to glucocorticoids implicated in the pathogenesis of major depression may result from functional alterations in the glucocorticoid receptor gene. We 1) examined the prevalence of genotype distribution of specific polymorphisms of the glucocorticoid receptor gene (Bcl1, N363S, rs33388, rs33389) in a subset of women from the P.

Morphometric dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (MXA) for identification of vertebral fractures.

Visual identification of vertebral fractures from spinal radiographs makes use of operator expertise in ruling out non-fracture deformities or normal variants. Morphometric X-ray absorptiometry (MXA) has recently been developed to assess vertebral deformity status quantitatively by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The reliability of MXA measurements depends on the precision of the technique, and this is influenced by system error, variability associated with morphometric analysis, and variability within study populations.

Raloxifene: bone and cardiovascular effects.

Raloxifene (RLX), a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), is currently indicated for the prevention and treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis. At present, RLX is evaluated in other areas of study that include the reduction of the risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular (CV) disease in post-menopausal women. This SERM acts as an estrogen agonist in the skeleton, on serum lipid metabolism and on a number of coagulation factors, while it is an estrogen antagonist in the breast and uterus.

Plasma leptin in men and women with seasonal affective disorder and in healthy matched controls.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a specific clinical entity characterized by recurrent episodes of depression, which typically occur during the winter with periods of remission during the spring and summer. These depression episodes are accompanied by hyperphagia with cravings for carbohydrates and moderate weight gain, and usually respond to light therapy. We examined potential relationships between leptin, a hormone known to affect appetite and weight regulation, and seasonal changes in mood and appetite by measuring plasma leptin, clinical severity of depression, appetite scores, and body mass index (BMI) in 19 women and 8 men with SAD and matched controls (20 women and 8 men) in the summer and winter.