Could Perimenopausal Estrogen Prevent Breast Cancer? Exploring the Differential Effects of Estrogen-Only Versus Combined Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women in the western world, accounting for up to 30% of all cancers in women. There is a long-standing controversy about the potential link to hormone replacement therapy (HRT), with large observational studies suggesting that HRT increases the risk, while the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a prospective, randomized placebo-controlled trial, has reported several times over a period of 20 years that combined (estrogen and progestogen) HRT increases the risk, while estrogen-only HRT given to women who have had a prior hysterectomy, is associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing breast cancer. Evidence from the randomized trial shows a significant reduction in both incidence of and mortality from breast cancer in women who took estrogen replacement therapy; this message needs to be presented clearly and robustly so that it can help women with decision making when considering HRT for menopause.

Could Estrogen Protect Women From COVID-19?

The apparent gender differences in favor of women in the risk of contracting and dying from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the fact that such trends have also been observed in recent epidemics including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), have prompted the obvious question: Are the reasons life-style or biological? True, women generally make healthier lifestyle choices as compared to men. Women do not smoke or drink as much as men, and they have a lower burden of those diseases (heart disease, diabetes or chronic lung conditions) that are known to be significant factors in the higher death rates among men with COVID-19. But there is compelling evidence for a role for biological factors.

It is all in the name: The importance of correct terminology in hormone replacement therapy.

The global increase in life expectancy to 74 years for women, while the median age of the menopause remains at 51 years, means that an increasing number of women will live a significant portion of their adult lives in the menopause. The WHI publications in 2003/4 reported on the dangers of hormone replacement therapy, in particular with respect to breast cancer and dementia risk. This resulted in a dramatic reduction in hormone replacement therapy prescription and use.

Effects of Estrogen Therapies on Outcomes in Turner Syndrome: Assessment of Induction of Puberty and Adult Estrogen Use.

Context: Turner syndrome (TS) is often associated with delayed puberty. To induce puberty, estrogen is administered in incremental doses at an age determined by age of presentation. After puberty, various types of maintenance estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) are used.

Outcome of ovarian stimulation for oocyte cryopreservation in women with Turner syndrome.

Objective: To study the safety and efficacy of ovarian stimulation and oocyte cryopreservation as a method of fertility preservation in women with Turner syndrome (TS).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Reproductive medicine clinic.

Medical therapy for fibroids: An overview.

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumours in women of reproductive age group and are a cause of significant healthcare burden. Although surgical treatments have been the traditional gold standard for symptomatic uterine fibroids, several medical therapeutic approaches have been used to achieve symptom suppression in women who wish to preserve their uterus or are at elevated risk of complications during surgery. Medical therapies used for uterine fibroids include tranexamic acid, NSAIDs, contraceptive steroids, progesterone coil, GnRH analogues, aromatase inhibitors, SERMs and progesterone receptor modulators.

Role of Metformin in Women's Health: Review of Its Current Place in Clinical Practice and Emerging Indications for Future.

Importance: Metformin, an oral antihyperglycemic drug, acts as an insulin sensitizer in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. It has also been widely used in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and gestational diabetes mellitus. Although randomized clinical trials have failed to establish its superiority over other forms of treatment, metformin continues to be a treatment option in specific subgroups of women either alone or as an adjunct with other therapies in management of PCOS.

Ulipristal acetate for use in moderate to severe symptoms of uterine fibroids.

Although it has been known for a long time that uterine fibroids respond to changes in sex steroid concentrations, it is the availability of selective progesterone receptor modulators such as ulipristal acetete that has provided the gynecologist with a novel option for medical management of uterine fibroids. Ulipristal acetate is presently licensed in Europe for use in women with symptomatic fibroids up to 3 months prior to surgery and has demonstrated good clinical efficacy and safety for this indication. Future trials will define the long-term safety of this drug and its role in medical management of uterine fibroids.

GnRH agonists: do they have a place in the modern management of fibroid disease?

In the management of women with fibroid disease, GnRH agonists (GnRHa) are frequently used to reduce volume and vascularity before myomectomy, apparently to render the operation easier and reduce operative blood loss, and to enable a transverse supra-pubic incision instead of a midline vertical one. They induce amenorrhoea and thus aid in the correction of pre-operative anaemia. Other gynaecologists use GnRHa to shrink sub mucous fibroids greater than 5 cm in diameter to facilitate access and reduce blood loss and operating time at transcervical resection.

Differences in collagen ultrastructure of human first trimester decidua basalis and parietalis: implications for trophoblastic invasion of the placental bed.

Aim: The human embryo-maternal interface in the first trimester of pregnancy is an area of extensive tissue remodeling. Because collagen is the most abundant constituent of the extracellular matrix of the placental bed, successful invasion must involve its rapid turnover. We compared the nature and distribution of collagen fibrils in decidua basalis and parietalis.

Maternal, perinatal and long-term outcomes after assisted reproductive techniques (ART): implications for clinical practice.

The use of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) is on the rise throughout the world and the number of babies born as a result of ART has reached an estimated total of 5 million since the world's first, Louise Brown, was born in 1978. Data from many prospective and retrospective studies have suggested increased risks of adverse maternal, perinatal and long-term outcomes after ART compared to natural conception. Recent research suggests that underlying maternal factors rather than ART methods themselves play a significant role in causing such outcomes.

A pilot study of Foley's catheter balloon for prevention of intrauterine adhesions following breach of uterine cavity in complex myoma surgery.

Purpose: During abdominal myomectomy for removal of multiple fibroids, the uterine cavity may be breached. Repair of the breach is associated with a risk of development of intrauterine adhesions. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of temporary placement of a Foley's catheter balloon inflated with 30 ml normal saline into uterine cavity at the end of surgery to prevent this complication.

Reproductive outcomes after assisted conception.

The last three decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) so that now, in developed countries, 1.7% to 4.0% of all children are born after ART.

Uric acid: is it time to give up routine testing in management of pre-eclampsia?

Ever since it was first linked with the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia, uric acid has been a routine test requested by many care-givers managing pregnant women with hypertensive disease of pregnancy for almost 100 years. Existing evidence however suggests that it has no definitive role in prediction, diagnosis or management of pre-eclampsia. We argue against routine uric acid testing in pregnancies complicated by hypertension not only because it has become a fruitless academic exercise but also because ceasing its routine use will ensure cost-savings for the health services.

Progesterone and progesterone receptor modulators in the management of symptomatic uterine fibroids.

The majority of symptomatic uterine fibroids are currently treated by surgical interventions (myomectomy or hysterectomy) or radiological treatments (uterine artery embolisation or focussed ultrasound surgery). None of these treatments is a panacea, and what is conspicuous is the lack of an effective long-term medical therapy for a disorder so common among women of reproductive age. It has been known for some time that progesterone and its receptors enhance proliferative activity in fibroids and this has raised the possibility that anti-progestins and (PRMs) could be useful in the medical management of fibroids.

Exploiting the antioxidant potential of a common vitamin: could vitamin C prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis?

Aim: Oxidative stress is thought to play a central role in the pathophysiology of various conditions affecting women's health, including cancer, preeclampsia and osteoporosis. On the back of animal experimentation, we sought to establish whether the oral administration of vitamin C at high doses to postmenopausal women would achieve the plasma antioxidant activity that could prevent osteoporosis.

Methods: In our pilot study, we administered vitamin C at a dose of 10 grams daily to eight healthy postmenopausal women over a period of four weeks and measured their serum levels of vitamin C and crosslaps (markers of bone turnover) at baseline and then on a weekly basis.

Folic acid in obstetric practice: a review.

Unlabelled: Folic acid is one of the B complex vitamins and is now recognized as a major component of the periconceptional care of women in the reproductive age group. Deficiency of folic acid can lead to neural tube defects in the fetus and megaloblastic anemia in the mother. Due to its lower bioavailability from natural foods, many countries have adopted mandatory folic acid food fortification programs.

Vitamin C as an antioxidant supplement in women's health: a myth in need of urgent burial.

Epidemiological data suggest that diets rich in antioxidants protect against diseases associated with free radical damage, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Early observations also suggested that vitamin supplements with antioxidant properties, like vitamins C and E, could also prevent or ameliorate pre-eclampsia, but most large randomized clinical trials have failed to show any benefit. Vitamin C given orally, even at high doses, does not achieve sustained serum levels that might be required for effective antioxidant activity.