Macroprolactin in mothers and their babies: what is its origin?

Objectives: Macroprolactinemia is one of the major causes of hyperprolactinemia. The aim of this study was to clarify the origin of macroprolactin (macro-PRL).

Methods: We examined macro-PRL in the sera of 826 pregnant women and in those of their babies' umbilical cords at delivery.

Prevalence and Pathogenesis of Macro-Thyrotropin in Neonates: Analysis of Umbilical Cord Blood from 939 Neonates and Their Mothers.

Macro-thyrotropin (macro-TSH) is a large molecular weight TSH that causes elevated serum TSH concentrations due to its slow clearance. It is primarily a complex of TSH and anti-TSH autoantibodies. The aims of this study were to examine the prevalence and nature of macro-TSH in neonates and to determine how to cope with macro-TSH in neonates suspected to have congenital hypothyroidism through neonatal mass screening.

Relationship between somatic symptoms with menstruation and intention to leave work among university hospital nurses in Japan: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: This study investigated the association between menstrual symptoms and the intention to leave work among female nurses in Japan.

Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated female nurses (n = 317) at two university hospitals. The items measured were their characteristics (e.

Progressive Changes in Lumbopelvic Alignment during the Three Month-Postpartum Recovery Period.

Pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain is a common musculoskeletal problem, and postural changes are believed to be involved in these disorders. However, the lumbopelvic alignment changes in postpartum women remain unclear. This study aimed to determine whether there are changes in lumbopelvic alignment following vaginal or cesarean delivery and when these alignment changes occur after delivery.

Neonatal oral fluid as a transmission route for bifidobacteria to the infant gut immediately after birth.

Bifidobacteria are one of the most abundant bacterial groups in the infant gut microbiota and are closely associated with infant health and can potentially affect health in later life. However, the details regarding the source of bifidobacteria have yet to be completely elucidated. This study aimed to assess neonatal oral fluid (OF) as a transmission route for bifidobacteria to the infant gut during delivery.

Effectiveness on high-grade cervical abnormalities and long-term safety of the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine in Japanese women.

This study for the first time assessed quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine effectiveness against HPV6/11/16/18-related high-grade cervical disease in Japanese women (16-26 years old), as previously demonstrated in overseas trials, and vaccine safety in a longer term (48-month) open-label study (NCT01544478). Participants received three doses of qHPV vaccine (Day 1, Month 2, Month 6). Effectiveness endpoints, assessed in the per-protocol population, included incidence of HPV6/11/16/18-related cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) Grade 2 or worse (CIN Grade 2 and 3, adenocarcinoma in situ, and/or cervical cancer) as primary endpoint and incidence of external genital lesions (EGLs).

Impact of macroprolactin on galactorrhea and the rate of patients possibly affected by macroprolactin.

The clinical influence of macroprolactin (MPRL) is not clearly understood and the rate of patients potentially affected by MPRL is unknown. We investigated the influence of MPRL on the onset of galactorrhea and estimated the rate of patients with a proportion of MPRL fraction that may possibly affect galactorrhea. Data of patients with obstetric or gynecological symptoms who had undergone PRL fractionation testing were retrospectively analyzed.

Introduction of a new index of cervical consistency with transvaginal B-mode ultrasonography.

Changes in the length and consistency of the uterine cervix during pregnancy are known to precede pre-term labor. However, cervical consistency has not been studied in depth because its objective evaluation requires special equipment. Our aim was to define a new index to evaluate cervical consistency simply and easily using B-mode ultrasonography.

[Effectiveness of bisphosphonate administration during Gn-RH agonist therapy for endometriosis].

Gn-RH agonist therapy is widely used for treatment of endometriosis. However, it is well known that there are some side effects due to too much suppress of plasma sex steroid hormone levels. The decrease of the BMD (bone mineral density) is a serious side effect, and the BMD values are decreasing significantly even in the short period during Gn-RH agonist therapy.

[A case of mediastinal emphysema due to blunt trauma that a continuous drainage to the extrapleural space took effect].

A 70-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with chest bruise, resulting in fracture of the right rib. Nine hours later, the patient came to use again with a chief complaint of dyspnea and chest oppression. He had extensive subcutaneous emphysema in the upper half of the body.

Effects of dialysis on left ventricular diastolic filling in patients with chronic renal failure--assessment with radionuclide ventriculography.

To examine the effects of dialysis on left ventricular (LV) filling, gated radionuclide ventriculography was conducted in 15 patients with renal failure before and after dialysis. The LV regional function was assessed by subdividing the LV region of interest into 4 regions from which global and regional time-activity curves and their first-derivative curves were obtained. Early diastolic asynchrony was measured as the sum of the absolute values (total delta t) of the time differences (delta t) between the global peak LV filling rate (PFR) and that for each of the other 3 regions.

[Age-related modification of regional left ventricular filling in normal subjects].

Age-related reduction in global left ventricular filling has been reported. To assess how regional left ventricular filling is modified by aging, radionuclide ventriculography was conducted in 48 normal subjects aged 15 to 73 years. Left ventricular regional filling was assessed by dividing left ventricular region of interest into 4 quadrants, from which global (GLB), septal (SEP), apical (Ax) and lateral (LAT) time-activity curves and first-derivative curves were derived.