Progesterone levels on the day of embryo transfer using a single pessary of 400mg of vaginal progesterone vs. 200mg x2 pessaries in hormonal replacement cycles.

OBJECTIVE: Does the use of 400mg pessaries of micronized progesterone provide comparable results as pessaries of 200mg x2, in terms of progesterone levels in hormonal replacement cycles for embryo transfer?. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study based on 299 embryo transfer treatments under artificial endometrial preparation carried out at Instituto Bernabeu. 131 patients received 1 pessary of 400 mg b.i.d. (group A) and 168 received 2 pessaries of 200 mg b.i.d. (group B). RESULTS: Mean serum progesterone levels were similar between groups (A: 13.64±4.47ng/mL vs. B: 13.88±7.17ng/mL). There were no differences in suboptimal progesterone levels between groups (A: 11.5% vs. B: 16.8%). In terms of patients receiving additional progesterone supplementation, there were no differences between groups (A: 26% vs. B: 35.3%.). No differences between groups were observed in clinical outcomes: pregnancy rate (PR) (A: 55% vs. B: 54.8%), biochemical pregnancy loss rate (BPLR) (A: 13.4% vs. B: 17.6%), miscarriage rate (MR) (A: 17.9% vs. B: 19.8%) and ongoing pregnancy rate (OPR) (A: 36.5% vs. B: 34.1%). CONCLUSIONS: One progesterone pessary of 400mg (Cyclogest®) twice daily appears to be non-inferior to the use of two-200mg pessaries twice daily in terms of progesterone levels in HRT cycles.

Effect of the Mediterranean diet and probiotic supplementation in the management of mild cognitive impairment: Rationale, methods, and baseline characteristics.

Introduction: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can progress to Alzheimer's disease (AD). When MCI is not properly controlled, the speed of deterioration can dramatically increase. Reduction of oxidative stress/inflammation and the modulation of the gut-brain axis could be new potential therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of AD. Consumption of specific nutrients, diets and probiotic supplementation have been evaluated for neurodegenerative disorders. We focus on a detailed description of the study methods and baseline characteristics of a clinical trial aiming to evaluate the efficacy of a combined nutritional intervention, i.e., a Mediterranean diet with probiotics, on cognitive capacity in a population with MCI. Methods: In this randomized, latin-square crossover, double-blind, and controlled dietary intervention trial (clinicaltrials.gov NCT05029765), 47 MCI patients were randomized to consume three dietary interventions for 24-weeks each: (1) A Mediterranean diet supplemented with probiotics (109 colony-forming units of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium longum); (2) A Mediterranean diet + placebo; and (3) A Healthy diet according to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Participants will be evaluated before and after each of the three intervention periods (each 24-weeks, with a total of 72-weeks) for adherence to the assigned diet, blood tests, cognitive performance, gut microbiota analysis and functional neuroimaging studies. Results: Fifty patients, ≥60 years-old and diagnosed with MCI, underwent randomization. A total of 47 patients completed follow-up dietary interventions (57.4% males), with a good glycemic control (HbA1c 5.8 ± 0.1%, fasting glucose and insulin 99.7 ± 3.3 mg/dL and 10.4 ± 0.9 mU/L, respectively), elevated systolic blood pressure (136.9 ± 2.1 mmHg) and increased degree of inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, 8.8 ± 0.9 mg/dL). Baseline adherence to the Mediterranean diet was medium (7.5 ± 0.3 points on the score that ranged from 0 to 14 points). Conclusion: The results of this clinical study would provide more evidence on the need for dietary therapeutic strategies, for clinical and individual practice, in the management of MCI patients to reduce the risk of AD development. Targeting lifestyle modifications in high-risk populations could prevent substantial cases of cognitive decline. Clinical trial registration: [ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [NCT05029765].

The effect of prioritization over cognitive-motor interference in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and healthy controls.

The cognitive-motor interference (CMI) produced by simultaneous performance of a cognitive and a motor task has been proposed as a marker of real-life impairment of people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS), yet there is no consensus on the dual task (DT) procedure. This study aimed to compare DT performance of pwMS and healthy controls (HC) under different instructions and to examine its association with neuropsychological and clinical variables. PwMS (N = 23; relapsing-remitting course) and HC (N = 24) completed the cognitive (Verbal Fluency) and motor (walking) tasks under three conditions: independently or as single task (ST), both tasks simultaneously at best capacity or double prioritization (DT-DP), and only the cognitive task at best capacity while walking at preferred speed or cognitive prioritization (DT-CP). Compared to HC, pwMS walked significantly slower and produced less correct words under all conditions. The distance walked by pwMS and HC significantly differed between conditions (DT-CP< DT-DP< ST). PwMS produced more words during ST respective to DT-DP and DT-CP, with no difference between both DT conditions. HC showed no differences in cognitive performance between conditions. Motor and cognitive dual-task costs (DTC) were similar between groups. Only in pwMS, the cognitive DTC of DT-DP was different from zero. CMI measures correlated with neuropsychological, symptomatic, physiological (cognitive event-related potentials) and clinical variables. These results suggest that cognitive performance while walking is impaired in pwMS, but not in HC. CMI over cognitive performance might be a potential early marker of cognitive decline in pwMS, which may be enhanced by the instruction to prioritize both tasks in DT.