Considerations Regarding Embryo Culture Conditions: From Media to Epigenetics.

There are numerous reports on embryo culture media and conditions in the laboratory, as the subject is multifaceted and complex, reflecting the variation in practice. In this scoping review, we attempt to approach the topic of culture media and conditions from the practitioners' perspective aiming to highlight, in a comprehensive fashion, important aspects regarding the options available, introduce points of debate and controversy, while maintaining the viewpoint of the practicing embryologist's concerns.

Comparative Evaluation of Arabin Pessary and Cervical Cerclage for the Prevention of Preterm Labor in Asymptomatic Women with High Risk Factors.

Objective: Preterm labor is one of the most significant obstetric problems associated with high rate of actual and long-term perinatal complications. Despite the creation of scoring systems, uterine activity monitoring, cervical ultrasound and several biochemical markers, the prediction and prevention of preterm labor is still a matter of concern. The aim of this study was to examine cervical findings for the prediction and the comparative use of Arabin pessary or cerclage for the prevention of preterm birth in asymptomatic women with high risk factors for preterm labor.

Medical and Legal Aspects of Child Sexual Abuse: A Population-Based Study in a Hungarian County.

Background: Very few studies focus on childhood sexual abuse in middle European countries.

Aim: The purpose of our study is to describe the medical and legal characteristics of children who experience sexual abuse and explore common features that may result in strategies for prevention.

Methods: Between 2000 and 2015, 400 girls and 26 boys under the age of 18, suspected of being sexually abused, visited one of the four hospitals in a Hungarian county.

Retraction: Human Papilloma Virus' Life Cycle and Carcinogenesis.

[This retracts the article , PMID: 28465751.].

Administration of low-molecular-weight heparin in patients with two or more unsuccessful IVF/ICSI cycles: a multicenter cohort study.

To compare the effects of the administration of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) in subfertile patients with two or more unsuccessful IVF/ICSI cycles. In this six-center two-arm retrospective cohort study, the study population (230 women) underwent a GnRH-antagonist protocol and was classified into two groups, according to the couse of LMWH or not. Groups were compared regarding the clinical and IVF/ICSI cycle characteristics and reproductive outcomes, whereas clinical pregnancy and miscarriage constituted the primary endpoints.

Ten Years of Experience in Contraception Options for Teenagers in a Family Planning Center in Thrace and Review of the Literature.

: : The goal of our study was to investigate and evaluate the contraceptive behavior in teenagers from our family planning centre that services two different religious and socioeconomic populations living in the Thrace area. : During the last 10 years 115 Christian Orthodox (group A) and 53 Muslim teenagers (group B) were enrolled in our retrospective study. Contraceptive practice attitudes were assessed by a questionnaire.

Cigarette Smoking Promotes Infection of Cervical Cells by High-Risk Human Papillomaviruses, but not Subsequent E7 Oncoprotein Expression.

Persistent cervical infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (hrHPVs) is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for the development of cervical cancer. Therefore, there are other co-factors facilitating the hrHPV carcinogenic process, one of which is smoking. To assess the effect of smoking on high-risk (hr) HPV DNA positivity and on the expression of HPV E7 oncoprotein, as a surrogate of persistent hrHPV infection, we used data from women recruited for the PIPAVIR project, which examined the role of E7 protein detection in cervical cancer screening.

[Epidemiology, Risk Factors and Risk Stratification of Venous Thromboembolism in Pregnancy and the Puerperium].

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a leading cause of direct maternal deaths in the developed countries. The incidence of VTE has increased significantly during the past two decades. The absolute risk of VTE is estimated 0.

Predictive value of fetal scalp pH and base excess for fetal acidosis and poor neonatal outcome.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess retrospectively the predictive value of fetal scalp pH and base excess (BE) for fetal acidosis and poor neonatal outcome in term, low-risk, spontaneous deliveries with suspicious or pathological intrapartum cardiotocography (CTG) tracings.

Methods: Umbilical artery pH and BE values obtained immediately after delivery and Apgar score were the outcomes under consideration. Statistics included receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) and multiple logistic regression analysis.

The social stigma of HIV-AIDS: society's role.

AIDS is a devastating and deadly disease that affects people worldwide and, like all infections, it comes without warning. Specifically, childbearing women with AIDS face constant psychological difficulties during their gestation period, even though the pregnancy itself may be normal and healthy. These women have to deal with the uncertainties and the stress that usually accompany a pregnancy, and they have to live with the reality of having a life-threatening disease; in addition to that, they also have to deal with discriminating and stigmatizing behaviors from their environment.

Self-collected cervicovaginal sampling for site-of-care primary HPV-based cervical cancer screening: a pilot study in a rural underserved Greek population.

In the present pilot study, the feasibility of a site-of-care cervicovaginal self-sampling methodology for HPV-based screening was tested in 346 women residing in underserved rural areas of Northern Greece. These women provided self-collected cervicovaginal sample along with a study questionnaire. Following molecular testing, using the cobas HPV Test, Roche, HPV positive women, were referred to colposcopy and upon abnormal findings, to biopsy and treatment.

Prepartum Psychosis and Neonaticide: Rare Case Study and Forensic-Psychiatric Synthesis of Literature.

Peripartum psychosis is a rare but serious psychiatric disorder characterized by the presence of a mood episode with psychotic features. Although controversy surrounds the nosological status of peripartum mental disorders, these conditions continue to be of exceptional interest to the medical and forensic mental health communities. The aim of this study was to report a rare case of prepartum psychosis which escalated to the endpoint of neonaticide and summarize literature on peripartum mental disorders and infanticide.

Ankylosing Spondylitis and Pregnancy: A Literature Review.

Background: Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is the prototype of a group of systemic rheumatic diseases collectively referred to as Spondylarthitides (SpA). It has now become clear that AS is not as rare as previously thought and, although it has an early onset in life affecting patients in their reproductive years, it has not been proved to adversely affect fertility in females.

Objective: The aim of this review is to summarize all the recent data on AS and pregnancy in terms of fertility, disease course and pregnancy outcome from a clinical perspective.

Interrelations among the adipocytokines leptin and adiponectin, oxidative stress and aseptic inflammation markers in pre- and early-pubertal normal-weight and obese boys.

Purpose: Presumed interrelationships among deleterious aspects of adipose tissue metabolism, inflammation, and cellular oxidative stress could be influenced by pubertal hormonal changes. They were investigated in pre- and early pubertal normal-weight and obese boys before and after an exercise bout employed as an energy demanding stimulator.

Methods: Cross-sectional study.

Correlation of age at natural menopause with occupational status and other epidemiologic factors in women from Prefecture of Kavala, Greece.

Aim: Aim of this study was to explore possible associations between the timing of natural menopause and occupational status and other determinant epidemiologic factors among women living in the Prefecture of Kavala, a region of North-East Greece.

Methods: The sample of the study comprised of 827 naturally menopausal women, who consented to participate in this questionnaire-based interview study between 2011 and 2016. The study population was recruited from women who were hospitalized or visited the outpatient clinics of the General Hospital of Kavala and women working in the public sector services and private companies in the Prefecture of Kavala.

Induction of Labor in Post-Term Nulliparous and Parous Women - Potential Advantages of Misoprostol over Dinoprostone.

Introduction: We undertook a prospective cohort study to compare the effectiveness and safety of 50 µg misoprostol versus 3 mg dinoprostone in two vaginal doses 6 hours apart, followed if necessary by oxytocin for labor induction in low-risk post-term (> 40 weeks) pregnancies with unfavorable cervix (Bishop score ≤ 6).

Methods: Labor induction and subsequent management were conducted using a standardized protocol. The primary outcome of the study was labor induction rate.

[Pharmacological Thromboprophylaxis during Pregnancy and the Puerperium: Recommendations from Current Guidelines and their Critical Comparison].

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the leading causes of maternal deaths worldwide. Due to the increasing number of pregnant women with risk factors, the incidence of VTE has risen over the past decades. Mortality and morbidity of VTE are potentially preventable, since more than two-thirds of these women have identifiable risk factors and may benefit from appropriate thromboprophylaxis.

Inherited thrombophilia and reproductive disorders.

Apart from its established role in the pathogenesis of venous thromboembolism (VTE), inherited thrombophilia has been proposed as a possible cause of pregnancy loss and vascular gestational complications. There is a lot of controversy in the literature on the relationship between inherited prothrombotic defects and these obstetric complications. This is a review of the literature on inherited thrombophilia and reproductive disorders.

Human Papilloma Virus' Life Cycle and Carcinogenesis.

Rationale: Considering that the loss of cell cycle and apoptosis control constitutes a central event in human papilloma virus' (HPV)-mediated carcinogenesis, the reason of this study is to insight to the HPV life cycle.

Objective: The purpose of the study is to analyze the HPV molecular biology and cervical cancer association.

Methods And Results: Brief review of current literature on the HPV life cycle and cervical carcinogenesis.

Misoprostol for Labour Induction after Previous Caesarean Section - Forever a "No Go"?

Misoprostol in oral or vaginal form is an established method of labour induction worldwide. Its use after previous caesarean section is associated with a high rate of uterine rupture; according to international guidelines it is therefore contraindicated in this setting. However the evidence base for this recommendation comprises case reports, one randomised trial that was discontinued prematurely, and numerous low quality retrospective data analyses published between 1997 and 2004.

Thrombelastometric results and platelet function during pregnancy in women receiving low molecular weight heparin with a history of recurrent/late abortion--A retrospective analysis.

In women with a history of recurrent/late abortion and confirmed genetic/acquired thrombophilia, LMWH was given during subsequent pregnancy and serial coagulation testing was performed.In 82 consecutive pregnant women with recurrent (≥2) and/or late abortion (>12 GW) in the presence of single (n = 62; 75.6%) or combined (n = 20; 24.

The effect of the use of a new type of partogram on the cesarean section rates.

Objective: To assess the contribution of a new type of partogram, used in labor monitoring, in caesarean section rates.

Material And Methods: The study included term singleton uncomplicated pregnancies divided into two groups. Two types of partogram were used in labor monitoring.