Predictors of the quality of life of women in peri-menopausal period.

Introduction: The peri-menopausal period is the time of many biological, psychological and social changes. The quality of life of women in this period may be conditioned by many factors, and analysis of these factors may indicate the optimum directions of prophylactic and educational actions.

Objective: Analysis of selected predictive factors of the quality of life of women in the peri-menopausal period.

[Assessment of knowledge of women regarding sexual risk factors for cervical cancer].

Introduction: In Poland, reproductive system cancers are an important medical and social problem. Risky sexual behaviours such as early age of sexual initiation, or a large number of sexual partners increase the risk of cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of women about sexual risk factors for cervical cancer.

An analysis of the feelings of pregnant women at risk of preterm labour.

Introduction: The aim of the study was an analysis of the feelings of pregnant women at risk ofpreterm labour.

Material And Method: 313 expectant mothers aged between 18 to 44 years (ranges: 18-25, 26-30 and 31-44 years) with no psychological disorders, hospitalized and treated due to the risk of preterm labour were surveyed. All the examined pregnant women expressed voluntary and informed consent for the participation in the survey.

Intensification of anxiety and depression, and personal resources among women during the peri-operative period.

Aim: Surgical treatment of women due to gynaecological disorders is the cause of stress and may lead to psychological changes. Studies concerning human response to stress emphasize the importance of the effect of the level of the sense of coherence, anxiety, depression, dispositional optimism and skills of expressing emotions on the quality of feelings and experiences in difficult situations.

Materials And Methods: The study covered 232 women who had undergone gynaecological surgery due to various causes.

[Level of depression in women undergoing gynecologic surgery].

Study Objective: To determine the level of depression in women during the early post-operative period.

Material And Method: 220 women treated surgically for various gynecologic conditions were enrolled. The study was done between day 4-6 after surgery using Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI).

Analysis of quality of life of women in menopause period in Poland, Greece, Belarus and Belgium using MRS Scale. A multicenter study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the climacteric symptoms, the activity and quality of life of women in the menopausal period from Poland, Greece, Belarus and Belgium using a Menopause Rating Scale (MRS).

Material And Methods: The study was conducted among women over 40 years of age, from Poland (241), Belorussia (119), Greece (100), and Belgium (79). For the purpose of this research, the Polish, Russian, Belgian and Greek versions of the MRS were used.

Maternal passive smoking during pregnancy and neonatal health.

The objective of the study was the evaluation of effect of passive smoking among pregnant women on the health condition of their newborn babies. The study covered 150 healthy, non-smoking women from the Lublin Region. Among the total number of respondents, 45.

[Assessment of anxiety in women during puerperium].

Purpose: Many women experience various emotional disorders during puerperium characterized by high levels of anxiety.

The Aim Of This Study: To analyse the level of anxiety in women during puerperium depending on age, education, marital status, number of pregnancies, route of delivery, and family situation.

Material And Methods: We enrolled 120 women between day 10 and 15 of puerperium without any previous psychiatric disorders.

Attitudes of medical staff in delivering women's opinion.

Purpose: The growing competitiveness between various health centres in the scope of offered medical services is accompanied by growth of patients' expectations concerning the quality of the abovementioned services. That is why knowledge of the patients' needs and expectations concerning medical services may significantly contribute to the improvement in the quality of the services to be rendered. The aim of the study was to analyse the evaluation of attitudes of medical staff by delivering women.

Evaluation of the effect of using mobile phones on male fertility.

The problem of the lack of offspring is a phenomenon concerning approximately 15% of married couples in Poland. Infertility is defined as inability to conceive after a year of sexual intercourses without the use of contraceptives. In half of the cases the causative factor is the male.

Low dose magnetic fields do not cause oxidative DNA damage in human placental cotyledons in vitro.

The biological impact of low dose magnetic fields generated by electric appliances present in the human environment is still uncertain. In this study, human placentas served as a model tissue for the evaluation of the potential effect of oscillating low intensity magnetic fields on the concentration of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) in cellular DNA. Cotyledons were dissected from placentas obtained immediately after physiological labours and exposed to magnetic fields (groups MF A, 2 mT, 50 Hz and MF B, 5 mT, 50 Hz) or sham exposed (group C) during an in vitro perfusion of 3 h.

Oxidative DNA damage in placentas from normal and pre-eclamptic pregnancies.

Placental oxidative stress was suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia (PE). In this study, levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), a well-established marker of oxidative DNA damage, were analysed in placental cellular DNA from normal (group NP) and pre-eclamptic (group PE) pregnancies as well as from PE pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (group PE-IUGR). Placental samples obtained immediately after delivery were frozen at -80 degrees C until analysis.

[Relationship between maternal cigarette smoking and newborn birth weight and physical condition].

Current literature presents the argument whether decrease of birth weight of newborns delivered by women smoking during pregnancy results from tobacco smoking or from lower standard of living of smoking women. Therefore research was undertaken to analyse birth weight and general condition of newborns in groups of women smoking and non-smoking during pregnancy representing comparable social-living status in the examined groups and at comparable gestation age at labour. The study was performed with the method of diagnostic survey using questionnaire technique and analysis of medical records.

[The dually perfused human placenta by Schneider method modified Miller. II. Changes of arterial and venous fetal blood pressure].

The study was carried out on 7 human placental cotyledons. Placental perfusions performed by Schneider method modified by Miller were conducted for 180 min. assessment of arterial and venous pressure in fetal blood was performed.

[DNA adducts level in normal and preeclamptic placentas].

Objective: An increase in lipid peroxidation intensification in preeclamptic placentas leads to an increased level of lipid peroxidation products and increased reactive oxygen species activity which can be associated with increased activation of chemicals to electrophilic species that bind covalently to DNA and form adducts.

Design: The aim of the study was the determination of DNA adducts (A-DNA) in placentas from normal and preeclamptic pregnancies.

Materials And Methods: The investigations comprised placentas obtained immediately after delivery from 21 normal pregnancies [group K], 24 pregnancies complicated by severe preeclampsia-PE without intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR [group PE] and 21 pregnancies complicated by severe PE and IUGR [group PEI].

[Catalase activity in normal and preeclamptic placentas].

Objective: The decrease of placental catalase (CAT) activity may lead to an increase of placental amounts of reactive oxygen species and can contribute to preeclampsia pathogenesis.

Design: The aim of the study was to determine CAT activity in placentas from normal and preeclamptic pregnancies (with and without intrauterine growth restriction--IUGR).

Materials And Methods: The investigations comprised placentas obtained immediately after delivery from 22 normal pregnancies (group K), 26 pregnancies complicated by severe preeclampsia-PE without IUGR (group PE) and 23 pregnancies complicated by severe PE and IUGR (group PEI).

[Assessment of lipid peroxidation intensification in normal and preeclamptic placentas].

Objective: Free radical induced lipid peroxidation (LP) in the placenta has been suggested as a possible pathogenetic factor of preeclampsia (PE).

Design: The aim of the study was to assess LP intensification by the measurement of lipid peroxidation products (LPP) content in placentas from normal and preeclamptic pregnancies.

Materials And Methods: The investigations comprised placentas obtained immediately after delivery from 24 normal pregnancies [group K], 26 pregnancies complicated by severe PE without intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) [group PE] and 23 pregnancies complicated by severe PE and IUGR [group PEI].

[Glutathione peroxidase activity in normal and preeclamptic placentas].

Objective: The decrease of placental glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity may lead to exacerbation of lipid peroxidation in preeclamptic placentas.

Design: The aim of the study was the determination of GSH-Px activity in placentas from normal and preeclamptic pregnancies (with and without intrauterine growth retardation-IUGR).

Materials And Methods: The investigations comprised placentas obtained immediately after delivery from 24 normal pregnancies (group K), 26 pregnancies complicated by severe preeclampsia-PE (group PE) and 23 pregnancies complicated by severe PE and IUGR (group PEI).

[Histocompatibility antigens in pregnant women with preeclampsia and in their husbands].

Objectives: Several pedigree and epidemiological studies have suggested that preeclampsia (PE) has an immunogenetic basis. Therefore, we have attempted to disclose a possible association between antigens of the HLA system (HLA-A, B and C) and development of PE.

Design And Methods: Peripheral blood lymphocytes were typed for HLA-A, B and C antigens by the two-stage microlymphocytotoxic test in 32 pregnant women with PE and in their husbands from south-east Poland.

Superoxide dismutase activity in normal and preeclamptic placentas.

Objectives: A deficiency in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in preeclamptic placentas can lead to an excess of superoxide radicals and may be responsible for the development and the severity of preeclampsia (PE).

Design: Our studies were undertaken in order to determine placental SOD activity and to investigate their association with the development and the severity of PE.

Materials And Methods: The activity of SOD was determined using a spectrophotometric method in 22 placentas from normal term pregnancies (group K), 24 placentas from pregnancies complicated by severe PE (group PE), and 21 placentas from pregnancies complicated by severe PE and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (group PEI).

[Usefulness of clinical evaluation for the level of CA-125 antigen and ultrasonographic color Doppler examination in diagnosis of ovarian tumor].

The objective of our study was to evaluate the predictive value of serum CA-125 levels and transvaginal ultrasound with color Doppler flow mapping (RI) in patients with benign and malignant ovarian tumors. The retrospective analysis included 78 women in whom 92 tumors were detected. Eleven patients had ovarian carcinoma (a total of 16 tumors).

[Natural cytotoxicity of CD16+ lymphocytes in women with selected states of pregnancy pathology].

The natural cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes CD16+ (NK) was studied in healthy nonpregnant and pregnant women and in patients with threatened spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery and preeclampsia. We have shown no differences in the proportion of NK cells between all studied patients and controls. The possibility of previous contact with embryonic antigens was excluded since no differences were noted between cytotoxic activity of NK cells obtained from multiparous women and those who never gave a birth.

[Beeswax pessary in conservative treatment of uterine prolapse].

The own method of uterine prolapse treatment with the use of beeswax pessary is presented. The described method is applied in cases where general health conditions do not allow to perform the surgery. The study revealed that the beeswax is a good material to make a vaginal pessary.

[Endometriosis in clinical materials from the years 1981-1990].

In the group of 213 women with diagnosed endometriosis, after the histological analysis of the samples obtained during surgical procedure the following factors have been determined: the character and frequency of complaints, prevalence of the disease depending on the age of patients, it's localisation, coexistence with the neoplasms of the genital tract, indications for the surgical treatment and it's type. Taking into account the difficulties in diagnosing endometriosis, it's occurrence in young women and the possibility of malignant transformation along with the coexistence with malignant neoplasms of genital tract, we are convinced that the surgical intervention should be undertaken in order to achieve the better cure rate as well as to improve the accuracy of diagnosis.

[An evaluation of agreement between cytologic, colposcopic and histologic results in neoplasms of the uterine neck].

There was carried out a retrospective analysis of cytologic, and colposcopic examination results in a group of 748 women with diagnosed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) basing on histologic examinations of topical biopsy samples. In the CIN III group, in addition, results of preoperative histologic examinations were compared with those of postoperative histologic examinations. The examinations showed that a complex CIN diagnosis, including cytologic and colposcopic examination combined with taking topical biopsy samples achieves high accuracy and makes surgical conization a safe medical procedure in such cases.