Treatment of microperforate hymen with serial dilation: a novel approach.

Background: Microperforate and imperforate hymens are one of the most common causes of vaginal outflow obstruction in the adolescent population. To date, these hymen anomalies are traditionally treated by hymenectomy with a cruciate excision.

Cases(s): We report 2 cases of adolescent women with a microperforate hymen who were successfully and minimally invasively treated with progressive dilation with Hegar cervical dilators until a number 23 dilator was reached under anesthesia in the OR.

Embryo manipulation and imprinting.

As the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) continues to rise worldwide, it remains of the upmost importance to maintain the safety of those techniques used in ART. Many of these practices are unique to this discipline; as such, it becomes difficult to assess the true risks that the potential offspring may be subjected to under this type of treatment. Removal of oocytes from a woman's body during an in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle offers an increased opportunity for routine cellular processes to go awry.

High Mobility Group Box Protein-1 correlates with renal function in chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with inflammation and malnutrition and carries a markedly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). High Mobility Group Box Protein-1 (HMGB-1) is a 30-kDa nuclear and cytosolic protein known as a transcription and growth factor, recently identified as a proinflammatory mediator of tissue injury. Recent data implicates HMGB-1 in endotoxin lethality, rheumatoid arthritis, and atherosclerosis.