Power morcellation inside a secure endobag: a pilot study.

Introduction: Unprotected power morcellation can lead to a spread of previously undiagnosed malignancy. We present a new containment bag with two closable trocar insertion sites to reduce this risk. This pilot study was designed to assess the feasibility of this device under everyday conditions.

Validation of functional fetal autonomic brain age score fABAS in 5 min short recordings.

With the objective of evaluating the functional maturation age and developmental disturbances we have previously introduced the fetal autonomic brain age score (fABAS) using 30 min fetal magnetocardiographic recordings (fMCG, Jena). The score is based on heart rate pattern indices that are related to universal principles of developmental biology. The present work aims at the validation of the fABAS methodology on 5 min recordings from an independent database (fMCG, Bochum).

Pain medication requirements after sacropexy and combination interventions.

Background And Objectives: Laparoscopic surgery is associated with reduced morbidity, and postoperative pain is reduced. The aim of this study was to assess postoperative pain intensity, analgesic requirements, and the influence of cofactors after laparoscopic sacral colpopexy.

Methods: The study assessed 287 patients treated with laparoscopic sacropexy for genital prolapse with a Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification grade>1.

Fetal electrocardiographic measurements in the assessment of fetal heart rate variability in the antepartum period.

This study examines signal availability in fetal electrocardiogram (FECG) beat-to-beat acquisition and the accuracy of fetal heart rate variability (HRV) analysis in the clinical setting using a commercially available FECG monitor. Signal availability was examined in 130 FECG recordings of 0.3-17.

What is the "normal" fetal heart rate?

Aim. There is no consensus about the normal fetal heart rate. Current international guidelines recommend for the normal fetal heart rate (FHR) baseline different ranges of 110 to 150 beats per minute (bpm) or 110 to 160 bpm.

Intrapartum signal quality with external fetal heart rate monitoring: a two way trial of external Doppler CTG ultrasound and the abdominal fetal electrocardiogram.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the fetal heart rate (FHR) signal quality of non-invasive abdominal fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) in comparison to the Doppler ultrasound cardiotocogram (CTG) during the first and second stage of labour.

Study Design: This was a prospective observational study of non-invasive fECG using five abdominally sited electrodes against the traditional Doppler ultrasound CTG probe on 144 patients. Data were analysed for signal quality before and after outlier removal.

The German version of the 'ICIQ Vaginal Symptoms Questionnaire' (German ICIQ-VS): an instrument validation study.

Introduction: No validated questionnaire that evaluates vaginal symptoms is currently available in the German language. Here, we report the translation and validation process of the German ICIQ-VS.

Subjects: Pilot study: 10 patients without any specific disease.

A prospective randomized placebo-controlled study of the effect of acupuncture in infertile patients with severe oligoasthenozoospermia.

In this first prospective, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled study, 28 infertile patients with severe oligoasthenozoospermia received acupuncture according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and 29 infertile patients received placebo acupuncture. A significantly higher percentage of motile sperm (World Health Organization categories A-C), but no effect on sperm concentration, was found after acupuncture compared with placebo acupuncture.

Diagnosis, treatment, observation and outcome of fetal supraventricular tachycardia in a twin pregnancy.

Background: Magnetocardiography and M-mode fetal echocardiography are non-invasive techniques capable of identifying fetal arrhythmias. The STAN-fetal scalp electrode system can record the fetal echocardiogram in labor.

Case: A patient was admitted to hospital with preterm contractions and cervical insufficiency at 28 weeks of gestation.

Effect of prenatal antiarrhythmic treatment on cardiac function in a twin pregnancy.

We present a case of supraventricular tachycardia affecting one fetus in a twin pregnancy. Before and after treatment with flecainide and cardioversion, we examined conduction times and heart rate variability (HRV) in both twins on the basis of magnetocardiography. Cardiac conduction times increased in both fetuses but HRV showed opposing effects with a number of HRV measures.

The stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha dependent migration of human cord blood CD34 haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells switches from protein kinase C (PKC)-alpha dependence to PKC-alpha independence upon prolonged culture in the presence of Flt3-ligand and interleukin-6.

Addition of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 to the culture medium of human cord blood haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) has been shown to lead to an altered stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha-dependent migratory phenotype. This study investigated whether this effect was attributed to a differential engagement of protein kinase C (PKC) isotypes. The migratory activity of both Flt3-ligand and Flt3-ligand/IL-6 cultured cord blood HSPCs was PKC-alpha dependent on day 1, but PKC-alpha independent after 5 d of cultivation.

Adhesion molecules and chemokines: the navigation system for circulating tumor (stem) cells to metastasize in an organ-specific manner.

To date, cancer is still the second most prevalent cause of death after cardiovascular diseases in the industrialized word, whereby the primary cause of cancer is not attributed to primary tumor formation, but rather to the growth of metastases at distant organ sites. For several years it was considered that the well-known phenomenon of organ-specific spreading of tumor cells is mostly a mechanical process either directed passively due to size constraints (mechanical trapping theory) or due to a fertile environment provided by the organ in which tumor cells can proliferate (seed and soil hypothesis). Both mechanisms strongly depend on the adhesive properties of tumor cells either to endothelial cells and/or cancer cells, which are facilitated by a variety of cell adhesion molecules including carbohydrates and integrins.

Alteration in the gene expression pattern of primary monocytes after adhesion to endothelial cells.

Monocytes originate from precursors made in the bone and remain in the circulation for nearly 24 h. Much effort has been done to identify the molecules regulating transendothelial migration of monocytes during inflammatory conditions. In contrast, considerably less is known about the process of constitutive monocyte emigration although nearly 340 million monocytes leave the circulation each day in healthy individuals.

Testing of functional integrity of p53 protein in primary breast cancer by a rapid quantitative p53-p21 double assay may improve the clinical value of p53.

We hypothesized that inclusion of p21(WAF1), an indicator of biological function, into the p53 assay might improve the clinical value of p53 in breast cancer diagnosis. In primary breast carcinomas (n = 146) and healthy/benign controls (n = 40), the p53 protein was quantified by luminescence immunoassay. The p21 protein was simultaneously measured by quantitative ELISA in a representative subgroup of breast cancers (n = 52) and controls (n = 17).

Gender-related changes in magnetocardiographically determined fetal cardiac time intervals in intrauterine growth retardation.

Prenatal growth deficiencies as well as gender have been associated with cardiovascular disease in later life. It is also known that the duration of fetal cardiac time intervals (CTI) are dependent on fetal development. The aim of this work was to examine the relationship between fetal CTI in healthy and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) fetuses, taking gender into account.

Visualization of tumor cell extravasation.

In cancer the blood-borne spread of tumor cells leads to the formation of secondary tumors at distant loci, whereby the extravasation of tumor cells is a prerequisite step during hematogenous metastasis. In regard to the fate of endothelial cells located at the site of tumor cell infiltration, tumor cell-endothelial interactions were analyzed using an in vitro real-time model. This model shows the complete sequence of the transmigration process and gave new insights into the complex and dynamic cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions which occur during tumor cell transmigration across the endothelial barrier.

Effect of acupuncture on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study.

Objective: To determine the effect of luteal-phase acupuncture on the outcome of IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Design: Randomized, prospective, controlled clinical study.

Setting: University IVF center.

Prevention of surgery-induced suppression of granulocyte function by intravenous application of a fermented extract from Viscum album L. in breast cancer patients.

Surgical stress and anaesthetics are able to suppress the immune system. This may accelerate the growth and metastasis of residual cancer cells. As Viscum album L.

Role of the beta1-integrin subunit in the adhesion, extravasation and migration of T24 human bladder carcinoma cells.

The abilities of tumor cells to extravasate from the blood vessel system and to migrate through the connective tissue are prerequisites in metastasis formation. Both processes are chiefly mediated by integrins, which mediate both cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. We investigated the role of integrin subunits in the adhesion, extravasation and migration of the highly invasive human bladder carcinoma cell line T24.

3D-extravasation model -- selection of highly motile and metastatic cancer cells.

Extravasation has been described as a rate-limiting step in the process of hematogeneous metastasis formation. Thereby, transendothelial migration of tumor cells consists of a complex series of events involving multiple cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. 3D-extravasation assays are valuable tools for the identification of genes, which are the key players at switchboards of the intracellular signaling pathways.

Intra-operative introital ultrasound in Burch colposuspension reduces post-operative complications.

Objective: To determine the effect of intra-operative monitoring of bladder neck elevation on cure rate and post-operative complications in patients undergoing colposuspension.

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Setting: Urogynaecology units, university hospitals.

Differential effects of culture conditions on the migration pattern of stromal cell-derived factor-stimulated hematopoietic stem cells.

Evidence is mounting that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) play a critical role in bone marrow regeneration and tissue renewal, for which migration is an obvious prerequisite. Computer-aided analysis and a three-dimensional collagen matrix assay enabled us to analyze single-cell migratory characteristics of stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1 alpha)-stimulated cord blood-derived HSCs. We defined and resolved specific migratory parameters in spontaneous and SDF-1 alpha-induced migration of these cells.

Changes in the frequency power spectrum of fetal heart rate in the course of pregnancy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine changes in the heart rate variability based on the frequency power spectrum of healthy fetuses during the second and third trimester of pregnancy.

Methods: We analyzed 222 fetal magnetocardiograms recorded in 49 healthy singleton pregnancies between the 16th and 42nd week. Discrete Fourier transformation was performed on the time-based step function of the RR-intervals.

Clinical and subclinical reactivation of genital herpes virus.

Reactivations of herpes simplex virus (HSV) either symptomatically (recrudescence) or without symptoms (recurrence) are well documented. As an asymptomatic reactivation may contribute to transmitting HSV to potential acceptors the frequency of reactivations should be evaluated. In order to evaluate the frequency of HSV-2 reactivation 173 genital swabs of a group of women chosen at random were analyzed by nested PCR.