The difficult journey to treatment for women suffering from heavy menstrual bleeding: a multi-national survey.

PURPOSE: Up to 30% of women of reproductive age experience HMB, which has a substantial impact on their quality of life. A clinical care pathway for women with HMB is an unmet need, but its development requires better understanding of the factors that characterise current diagnosis and management of the condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This observational, survey-based study assessed the burden, personal experiences, and path through clinical management of women with HMB in Canada, the USA, Brazil, France and Russia using a detailed, semi-structured online questionnaire. After excluding those reporting relevant organic pathology, responses to the questionnaire from 200 women per country were analysed. RESULTS: Around 75% of women with HMB had actively sought information about heavy periods, mostly through internet research. The mean time from first symptoms until seeking help was 2.9 (Standard deviation, 3.1) years. However, 40% of women had not seen a health care professional about the condition. Furthermore, 54% had never been diagnosed or treated. Only 20% had been diagnosed and received appropriate treatment. Treatment was successful in 69% of those patients currently receiving treatment. Oral contraceptives were the treatment most commonly prescribed for HMB, although the highly effective levonorgestrel-intrauterine system was used by only a small proportion of women. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight into the typical journey of a woman with HMB which may help patients and health care professionals improve the path to diagnosis and treatment, although further research with long-term outcomes is needed.

Ototoxicity in preterm infants: effects of genetics, aminoglycosides, and loud environmental noise.

Majority of hearing-loss cases with extremely preterm infants have no known etiology. There is a growing concern that the administration of aminoglycoside treatment in the noisy environment of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) may lead to hair-cell damage and subsequent auditory impairments. In addition, several mitochondrial DNA mutations are known to have been associated with aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss. This review provides a systematic analysis of the research in this area and elucidates the multifactorial mechanisms behind how mitochondrial DNA mutations, aminoglycosides and loud noise can potentiate ototoxicity in extremely preterm neonates. Recommended steps to minimize the risk of ototoxicity and improve clinical care for NICU infants are discussed.

Localized effects of microwave radiation on the intact eye lens in culture conditions.

A novel experimental system was used to investigate the localized effects of microwave radiation on bovine eye lenses in culture for over 2 weeks. Using this setup, we found clear evidence that this radiation has a significant impact on the eye lens. At the macroscopic level, it is demonstrated that exposure to a few mW at 1 GHz for over 36 h affects the optical function of the lens. Most importantly, self-recovery occurs if the exposure is interrupted. At the microscopic level, close examination of the lens indicates that the interaction mechanism is completely different from the mechanism-causing cataract via temperature increase. Contrary to the latter's effect, that is particularly pronounced in the vicinity of the sutures and it is assumed to be a result of local friction between the edges of the fibers consisting the lens. Even if macroscopically the lens has recovered from the irradiation, microscopically the indicators of radiation impact remain.