Publications by authors named "Stephanie D Sweet"

Female genital epithelial cells cover the genital tract and provide the first line of protection against infection with sexually transmitted pathogenic viruses. These cells normally are impervious to HIV-1. We report that coinfection of cells by HIV-1 and another sexually transmitted virus, human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1), led to production of HIV-1 that had expanded cell tropism and was able to directly infect primary vaginal and cervical epithelial cells.

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Bacterial vaginosis (BV), a common condition seen in premenopausal women, is associated with preterm labor, pelvic inflammatory disease, and delivery of low birth weight infants. Gardnerella vaginalis is the predominant bacterial species associated with BV, although its exact role in the pathology of BV is unknown. Using immunofluorescence, confocal and transmission electron microscopy, we found that VK2 vaginal epithelial cells take up G.

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Objective: To estimate racial disparities in the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotype between white and black women with PCOS.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: Two academic medical centers.

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Our small study does not support the addition of metformin to the lifestyle of adolescents. Although there are favorable trends toward hyperandrogenism with metformin, these must be balanced against the increased rate of gastrointestinal side effects. However, other treatments were associated with an improved quality of life.

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Objective: To determine if the combination of lifestyle (caloric restriction and exercise) and metformin (MET) would be superior to lifestyle and placebo (PBO) in improving the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) phenotype.

Design: Double-blind randomized 6-month trial of MET versus PBO.

Setting: Two academic medical centers.

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