The impact of body mass index on the pregnancy outcomes and risk of perinatal depression: Findings from a multicenter Italian study.

Background: Body Mass Index (BMI) is an informative factor on body fatness which has been associated to higher levels of Perinatal Depression (PD) and complications during pregnancy. We aimed to explore the impact of pre-pregnancy and postnatal BMI on the risk of Perinatal Depression and pregnancy outcomes among women recruited at their third trimester of pregnancy.

Methods: We report on findings from a large multi-centre study conducted in the South of Italy and involving 1611 women accessing three urban gynaecological departments from July to November 2020.

Spin Labeling of Long RNAs Via Click Reaction and Enzymatic Ligation.

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is a spectroscopic method for investigating structures, conformational changes, and dynamics of biomacromolecules, for example, oligonucleotides. In order to be applicable, the oligonucleotide has to be labeled site-specifically with paramagnetic tags, the so-called spin labels. Here, we provide a protocol for spin labeling of long oligonucleotides with nitroxides.

Spin Labeling of RNA Using "Click" Chemistry for Coarse-grained Structure Determination via Pulsed Electron-electron Double Resonance Spectroscopy.

Understanding the function of oligonucleotides on a molecular level requires methods for studying their structure, conformational changes, and internal dynamics. Various biophysical methods exist to achieve this, including the whole toolbox of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR or ESR) spectroscopy. An EPR method widely used in this regard is Pulsed Electron-Electron Double Resonance (PELDOR or DEER), which provides distances in the nanometer range between electron spins in biomolecules with Angstrom precision, without restriction to the size of the biomolecule, and in solution.

Do the P1 and P2 hairpins of the Guanidine-II riboswitch interact?

Riboswitches regulate genes by adopting different structures in responds to metabolite binding. The guanidine-II riboswitch is the smallest representative of the ykkC class with the mechanism of its function being centred on the idea that its two stem loops P1 and P2 form a kissing hairpin interaction upon binding of guanidinium (Gdm+). This mechanism is based on in-line probing experiments with the full-length riboswitch and crystal structures of the truncated stem loops P1 and P2.

In-office Hysteroscopic Treatment of Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich Syndrome: A Case Series.

Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome (HWWs) is a rare congenital malformation of the female urogenital track characterized by a triad consisting of didelphys uterus, obstructed hemivagina, and ipsilateral renal agenesis. We report 5 consecutive cases of patients diagnosed with HWWs treated in our center. Imaging studies with 2-dimensional/3-dimensional ultrasound and abdominopelvic magnetic resonance imaging were obtained to confirm the diagnosis.

Conservative Treatment of Ewing's Sarcoma of the Uterus in Young Women.

Ewing sarcoma-primitive neuroectodermal tumors (ES/PNETs) constitute a family of neoplasms characterized by a continuum of neuroectodermal differentiations. ES/PNET of the uterus is rare. There are 48 cases of ES/PNET of the uterus published in the literature as far as we know.

Endometriosis in young women: the experience of GISE.

Study Objective: To analyze the clinical manifestations of endometriosis in adolescents.

Design: prospective clinical study.

Setting: University and General hospitals.

Fibrotic tissue in the endometrioma capsule: surgical and physiopathologic considerations from histologic findings.

Ovarian tissue inadvertently excised along with endometriomas was associated with the presence of pericystic fibrosis and serum levels of CA-125, representing the only clinical parameter for predicting follicle loss before surgery. A consecutive series of 91 ovarian endometriotic cysts were studied, and an inverse relationship between serum CA-125 and the thickness of the fibrotic tissue of the endometrioma capsule was demonstrated.

Estimation of birth weight by two-dimensional ultrasonography: a critical appraisal of its accuracy.

Objective: To assess the accuracy and characterize two-dimensional ultrasonographic formulas for the estimation of birth weight according to the type of fetal biometric parameters these formulas rely on to make fetal weight predictions.

Methods: A prospective recruitment of 589 pregnant women was carried out for this cross-sectional study. Different biometric parameters were taken ultrasonographically to estimate birth weight using 35 different formulas.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy: an alternative option of treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer.

Although the incidence of cervical cancer has declined in both North America and Europe, it still represents the second most common cancer in women and the fifth most common malignancy worldwide. Most patients in the developed countries present with disease either confined to the cervix or with limited extension beyond it. Historically, the standard treatment was usually radiotherapy or radical hysterectomy with node dissection.

Office hysteroscopic metroplasty: three "diagnostic criteria" to differentiate between septate and bicornuate uteri.

Study Objective: To evaluate the benefits of adopting 3 simple "diagnostic criteria" in the differential diagnosis between septate and bicornuate uteri, and the relative treatment by hysteroscopy in an office setting.

Design: Prospective clinical study (Canadian Task Force classification III).

Setting: University-affiliated hospital.

Antimicrobial prophylaxis in vaginal gynecologic surgery: a prospective randomized study comparing amoxicillin-clavulanic acid with cefazolin.

The aim of this prospective, randomized study was to compare amoxicillin-clavulanic acid with cefazolin as ultra-short term prophylaxis in vaginal gynecologic surgery. It was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Bari. Patients were randomly allocated to receive amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (2.

Correlation between serum levels of CA 125 and follicular loss after laparoscopic cystectomy in women with ovarian endometrioma.

Study Objective: To preoperatively predict follicular loss after laparoscopic cystectomy of ovarian endometriomas.

Design: Case-control study. (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).

Performance of different ovarian reserve markers for predicting the numbers of oocytes retrieved and mature oocytes.

Objective: To assess the performance of different ovarian reserve tests for predicting the total numbers of oocytes retrieved and mature oocytes.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 71 women undergoing their first IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment. Basal ovarian reserve screening was performed on days 2-3 of a spontaneous cycle.

[A randomized study comparing amoxicillin-clavulanic acid with cefazolin as antimicrobial prophylaxis in laparotomic gynecologic surgery].

Aim: The aim of this paper was to compare amoxicillin-clavulanic acid with cefazolin as ultra-short term prophylaxis in laparotomic gynecologic surgery.

Methods: A prospective randomized study was conducted to compare 2 antimicrobial regimens in the surgical prophylaxis of laparotomic surgery. Patients were randomly allocated to receive amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (2.

[Polycystic ovary syndrome: from physiopathology to therapy].

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is still a complex and heterogeneous disorder that presents a challenge for clinical investigators. It is the most common endocrine and metabolic disorder of reproductive-aged women that presents with varied symptoms such as hyperinsulinemia, anovulatory dysfunction, hirsutism, obesity and elevated incidence of cardiac problems. For these reasons, this syndrome is considered by some physicians as an endocrine and for others as a metabolic syndrome.

Determinants of short term recurrence rate of endometriosis.

Objective: To analyse the frequency and the determinants of recurrence rate of clinically detectable endometriosis.

Study Design: Prospective cohort multicenter study. Eligible for the study were all women observed for the first time during the period January-June 1998 at the participating centres with a laparoscopically confirmed first diagnosis of endometriosis.

Hormone replacement therapy on ovarian and uterine cancer risk and cancer survivors: how shall we do no harm?

This article will focus on the results of the Women's Health Initiative on the effects of hormone replacement therapy on coronary heart disease, stroke, venous thromboembolism, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. Data from other relevant trials, including the most recent data on ovarian and uterine cancer risk and on gynecologic cancer patients, are also discussed to provide some guidelines on prescribing hormone replacement therapy in clinical practice, particularly in gynecologic cancer survivors.

Pseudo-Meigs syndrome and elevated CA125 associated with struma ovarii.

Background: Struma ovarii is a rare form of ovarian neoplasm composed entirely and predominantly of thyroid tissue. The association of pseudo-Meigs syndrome, elevation of CA125 and hyperthyroidism to struma ovarii is a rare condition.

Case: We report an unusual presentation of a postmenopausal woman with benign struma ovarii associated with pseudo-Meigs syndrome, hypertiroidism, and elevated CA125 serum level, and a large complex right pelvic mass thereby mimicking an ovarian cancer.

Simultaneous bilateral tubal pregnancies and intrauterine pregnancy with five fetuses.

A 28-year-old woman with severe right lower abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding at 7 weeks' (+/- 2 days') gestation was seen in the emergency room of our institution. The pregnancy was the result of natural conception after ovarian stimulation with gonadotropins. Transvaginal sonography revealed five intrauterine gestational sacs containing five live embryos.

Modulation of endometrial redox balance during the menstrual cycle: relation with sex hormones.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of changes in sex hormones occurring during the menstrual cycle on the redox balance and lipid peroxidation in normal human endometrial cells. Forty women, ages 21-41 yr, who were admitted to the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the University of Bari for routine checkups or were treated for benign uterine disease, underwent endometrial biopsy and venipuncture. On the basis of histological examination, patients were allocated as follows: 10 in the early proliferative phase, 12 in the late proliferative phase, 8 in the early secretory phase, and 10 in the late secretory phase.

Uterine cavity assessment in infertile women: comparison of transvaginal sonography and hysteroscopy.

Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of transvaginal sonography (TVS) in detecting uterine cavity abnormalities in infertile patients, with reference to hysteroscopy as the gold standard method.

Study Design: At the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Bari, 134 infertile women were investigated with both TVS and hysteroscopy. In all cases endometrial biopsy was performed.