Echographic study of follicular maturation and ovulation during the normal menstrual cycle.

Follicular development was followed by echography during 18 menstrual cycles in 10 women volunteers. Results were correlated with changes in serum hormone levels, basal body temperature curves, and cervical mucus changes. The average follicular growth as measured from the time of echographic visualization was 0.3 cm/day. The diameter of the follicle measured the day before disappearance was 2.7 +/- 0.3 cm. In all cases echography was shown to indicate accurately the time of ovulation. Given its inoffensive nature, the usefulness of echography in determining the physical event of ovulation is demonstrated. Possible applications in the surveillance of ovulation induction methods and in artificial insemination are discussed.

PIP: Echography of the ovarian follicle was compared with indirect tests of ovulation detection, such as basal body temperature, serum hormone levels, and cervical mucus changes, to analyze its effectiveness as an ovulation detection device. Follicular maturation was studied in 10 normal women volunteers, aged 24-28 years, with regular menstrual cycles and not taking oral contraceptives. In all, 18 cycles were studied. Average follicular growth by echographic visualization was .3 cm/day; the diameter of the follicle the day before disappearance was 2.7+ or -.3 cm. The echographic report in all ways correlated with other ovulation detection methods, and since it is noninvasive and unoffensive, the use of echography for ovulation surveillance in particular cases, such as artificial insemination and ovulation induction experiments, is recommended.

[The treatment of hot flashes due to menopause. Comparative study of two drugs (author's transl)]. / Le traitement des bouffées de chaleur de la ménopause. Etude comparative de deux médicaments.

The efficacy of veralipride, a new non-hormonal treatment for the treatment of menopausal symptoms, was evaluated following a randomised comparative study with a commonly used non-hormonal drug, bêta-alanine. Two groups of patients between 53 and 59 years received, one veralipride (22) at a dose of 100 mg/day for 20 days, the other beta-alanine (21) during the same period. 14 patients noted an improvement in their hot flushes while receiving veralipride as against 4 receiving beta-alanine. The superiority of veralipride was quite significant (P less than 0.01). Both products were well tolerated.

Prenatal diagnosis and postnatal follow-up of an abnormal child with two de novo apparently balanced translocations.

By prenatal diagnosis two apparently unrelated reciprocal translocations involving chromosomes 6/15 and 13/14 were revealed in a fetus in whom echography demonstrated an abdominal tumor. Pregnancy continued. At birth the child had dysmorphia and hydronephrosis, for which surgery was performed. The psychomotor development was delayed. These abnormalities may be the result of the loss of a small amount of chromosomal material accompanying these translocations.