Metabolic syndrome is not associated with erectile dysfunction in apparently healthy men.

Aims: To investigate whether metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with erectile dysfunction (ED) among apparently healthy men when depressive symptoms and serum testosterone levels are taken into account.

Methods: A study population of 549 men at risk for cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes was drawn from the participants of a population survey, the Harmonica Project. MetS was diagnosed with the United States National Cholesterol Education Program Third Adult Treatment Panel (ATPIII) 2005 definition, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) 2005 definition and the Harmonization 2009 definition.

Does the hormone "endogenous ouabain" exist in the human circulation?

Studies in the early 1990s suggested that a hormone identical to ouabain or an isomer of ouabain is secreted by the adrenal glands into the circulation and plays a role in the regulation of arterial pressure and cardiac and renal function. This hormone, known as endogenous ouabain (EO), was claimed to contribute to the pathophysiology of a number of disorders including heart failure, renal failure, pregnancy-induced, and essential hypertension. However, some research groups have been unable to confirm the presence of EO in the human circulation and the issue remains in dispute.

Incidence and risk factors of venous thromboembolism during postpartum period: a population-based cohort-study.

Introduction: The awareness of the incidence and timing of postpartum venous thromboembolic events guides the use of thromboprophylaxis. Our aims were to assess the incidence and mortality of venous thromboembolic events and identify its associated risk factors during different postpartum periods.

Material And Methods: A population-based controlled cohort study by combining four large registers in 2001-2011.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Can Be Prevented by Lifestyle Intervention: The Finnish Gestational Diabetes Prevention Study (RADIEL): A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To assess whether gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can be prevented by a moderate lifestyle intervention in pregnant women who are at high risk for the disease.

Research Design And Methods: Two hundred ninety-three women with a history of GDM and/or a prepregnancy BMI of ≥30 kg/m(2) were enrolled in the study at <20 weeks of gestation and were randomly allocated to the intervention group (n = 155) or the control group (n = 138). Each subject in the intervention group received individualized counseling on diet, physical activity, and weight control from trained study nurses, and had one group meeting with a dietitian.

The incidence and risk factors of recurrent venous thromboembolism during pregnancy.

Introduction: Recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) during pregnancy is a challenging topic with relatively few publications. The aim of this study was to identify the incidence and the risk factors of recurrent antepartum VTE in women with a history of at least one previous VTE episode.

Materials And Methods: This observational cohort study involved 270 pregnant women (369 pregnancies) with at least one previous episode of VTE.

Prevention of gestational diabetes through lifestyle intervention: study design and methods of a Finnish randomized controlled multicenter trial (RADIEL).

Background: Maternal overweight, obesity and consequently the incidence of gestational diabetes are increasing rapidly worldwide. The objective of the study was to assess the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a combined diet and physical activity intervention implemented before, during and after pregnancy in a primary health care setting for preventing gestational diabetes, later type 2 diabetes and other metabolic consequences.

Methods: RADIEL is a randomized controlled multi-center intervention trial in women at high risk for diabetes (a previous history of gestational diabetes or prepregnancy BMI ≥30 kg/m2).

Elevated serum angiopoietin-like protein 6 in women with subsequent pregnancy-induced hypertension: a preliminary study.

Objective: Association of maternal angiopoietin-like protein 6 (Angptl6) levels with subsequent development of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH).

Methods: At 24 and 32 weeks of gestation in 47 relatively overweight (BMI ≥ 24 kg/m(2)), nulliparous pregnant women serum concentrations of Angptl6 were quantified prospectively. Insulin sensitivity and lipids were measured at 24 weeks.

Safety of low-molecular-weight heparin during pregnancy: a retrospective controlled cohort study.

Objective: To study the safety of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) treatment during pregnancy for the mother and the foetus.

Study Design: Retrospective controlled cohort study. Six hundred and forty-eight pregnancies exposed to LMWH were compared with 626 unexposed pregnancies.

Thromboprophylaxis for recurrent miscarriage in women with or without thrombophilia. HABENOX: a randomised multicentre trial.

Recurrent miscarriage affects 1-2% of women. In more than half of all recurrent miscarriage the cause still remains uncertain. Thrombophilia has been identified in about 50% of women with recurrent miscarriage and thromboprophylaxis has been suggested as an option of treatment.

Central sympatholytic therapy has anti-inflammatory properties in hypertensive postmenopausal women.

Objective: Postmenopausal phase expresses many unfavourable physiological changes that lead to increased risk for cardiovascular disease. We compared the effect of two sympatholytic antihypertensive drug treatments, the centrally acting imidazoline receptor-1 agonist moxonidine and peripherally acting beta-blocking agent atenolol on sensitive inflammatory markers in overweight postmenopausal women with diastolic hypertension.

Methods: This was a multicentre, multinational double-blinded, prospective study comparing moxonidine (0.

A relationship between insulin sensitivity and vasodilation in women with a history of preeclamptic pregnancy.

Women with a history of preeclampsia are characterized by vascular dysfunction and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In the present study we investigated whether insulin sensitivity is decreased in women with previous preeclampsia and whether it is associated with endothelium-dependent and/or -independent vasodilation and/or features of metabolic syndrome. Twenty-eight nonobese women with previous severe preeclampsia and 20 women with a previous normotensive pregnancy were studied 5 to 6 years after the index pregnancy.

Metabolic syndrome and the menopause.

The metabolic syndrome consists of a combination of risk factors that include abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidaemia, hypertension and insulin resistance. It increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The increased risk of cardiovascular disease is higher in women than in men.

Use of insulin glargine during pregnancy.

Background: Good metabolic control maintained throughout pregnancy reduces maternal and fetal complications in diabetic women. The long-acting insulin analogue glargine has 24-h persistence and a peakless action profile, and could contribute to more stable daily plasma glucose levels and improved glycemic control. We evaluated the metabolic control associated with insulin glargine during pregnancy in comparison with conventional basal insulin therapy.

Glycodelin: a novel serum anti-inflammatory marker in type 1 diabetic retinopathy during pregnancy.

Purpose: Inflammation may play a role in the development of diabetic retinopathy during pregnancy. Glycodelin is a glycoprotein whose secretion from the endometrial glands increases during pregnancy. Glycodelin has immunosuppressive properties thought to play a role in the protection of the fetoplacental unit.

Impaired vascular dilatation in women with a history of pre-eclampsia.

Objective: The mechanisms underlying increased cardiovascular risk among women with a history of pre-eclampsia remain unclear. Impaired endothelial function has been observed in both pre-eclampsia and atherosclerosis, and provides a plausible link between the two conditions. We studied endothelial function and arterial compliance in non-pregnant, previously pre-eclamptic women.

Manifestations of chronic disease during pregnancy.

Context: Physiologic changes of pregnancy include insulin resistance, thrombophilia, immunosuppression, and hypervolemia. These changes may herald the development of disease in later life.

Objective: To summarize current evidence on how pregnancy reveals risk of chronic disease.

Insulin resistance and sympathetic overactivity in women.

Insulin sensitivity decreases for the first time in females at the time of menarche. A much more profound decrease in insulin sensitivity is observed at the end of pregnancy. This physiological insulin resistance is not accompanied by a rise in overall sympathetic activity as reflected in plasma noradrenaline levels, but there is evidence of moderate sympathetic overactivity in muscle and the heart.

The insulin-like growth factor system and Type 1 diabetic retinopathy during pregnancy.

Aims/hypothesis: To find out whether the levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), IGF binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1), highly phosphorylated IGFBP-1 (hpIGFBP-1), and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) are related to the progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods: In a prospective study of 42 pregnant women with Type 1 diabetes and 9 nondiabetic controls, DR was graded from fundus photographs. Levels of serum total IGF-I and two different phosphoisoform patterns of IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3 were measured during the first and third trimester of pregnancy and 3 months postpartum.

50gram oral glucose challenge test combined with risk factor-based screening for gestational diabetes.

Objective: Our aim was to study whether universal screening of all pregnant women by Oral Glucose Challenge Test (OGCT) would identify a higher number of women with Gestational Diabetes (GDM) than risk factor based screening.

Study Design: A 50 g OGCT test was performed prospectively in 532 unselected women at 26-28 weeks of gestation. The 1-h venous plasma glucose concentration of >7.

Vasoactive mediators and retinopathy during type 1 diabetic pregnancy.

Purpose: To evaluate the role of various vasoactive hormones in the evolution of diabetic retinopathy during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods: Retinopathy was graded from fundus photographs of 45 pregnant women with type 1 diabetes and seven pregnant women without diabetes in a prospective study. Markers of renin-angiotensin-system (RAS), plasma renin activity (PRA), angiotensin II (AngII), aldosterone, natriuretic peptides (ANP, BNP, CNP) and adreonomedullin (AM) were measured during the first and third trimesters and at 3 months postpartum.

N-terminal pro-C-type natriuretic peptide, but not C-type natriuretic peptide, is greatly elevated in the fetal circulation.

We have identified recently a new peptide, NT-proCNP(1-50) (N-terminal pro-C-type natriuretic peptide), in the circulation of humans and sheep. A previous report of an elevated fetal-maternal gradient in immunoreactive CNP raised the possibility that processing and metabolism of proCNP may differ in maternal and fetal tissues. We therefore collected matching peripheral maternal and umbilical cord plasma samples at delivery from women with normotensive and pre-eclamptic pregnancies to investigate the presence and concentrations of CNP and NT-proCNP using HPLC and RIA.

Topographic change in the central macula coupled with contrast sensitivity loss in diabetic pregnancy.

Purpose: To study macular topography and contrast sensitivity (CS) in diabetic and nondiabetic women during pregnancy and post partum.

Methods: A prospective study of 46 pregnant women with insulin-dependent diabetes and 11 nondiabetic pregnant controls. Macular surface topography was analyzed by Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph.