Contraceptive use and sexual function: a comparison of Italian female medical students and women attending family planning services.

Objectives: The aims of the study were to understand how education relates to contraceptive choice and how sexual function can vary in relation to the use of a contraceptive method.Methods: We surveyed female medical students and women attending a family planning service (FPS) in Italy. Participants completed an online questionnaire which asked for information on sociodemographics, lifestyle, sexuality and contraceptive use and also included items of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI).Results: The questionnaire was completed by 413 women (362 students and 51 women attending the FPS) between the ages of 18 and 30 years. FSFI scores revealed a lower risk of sexual dysfunction among women in the control group who did not use oral hormonal contraception. The differences in FSFI total scores between the two study groups, when subdivided by the primary contraceptive method used, was statistically significant (p < 0.005). Women using the vaginal ring had the lowest risk of sexual dysfunction, compared with all other women, and had a positive sexual function profile. In particular, the highest FSFI domain scores were lubrication, orgasm and satisfaction, also among the control group. Expensive contraception, such as long-acting reversible contraception, was not preferred by this young population, even though such methods are more contemporary and manageable. Compared with controls, students had lower compliance with contraception and a negative attitude towards voluntary termination of pregnancy.Conclusion: Despite their scientific knowledge, Italian female medical students were found to need sexual and contraceptive assistance. A woman's sexual function responds to her awareness of her body and varies in relation to how she is guided in her contraceptive choice. Contraceptive counselling is an excellent means to improve female sexuality.

Stress-first single photon emission computed myocardial perfusion imaging.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with single photon emission tomography (SPET) is widely used in coronary artery disease evaluation. Recently major dosimetric concerns have arisen. The aim of this study was to evaluate if a pre-test scoring system could predict the results of stress SPET MPI, thus avoiding two radionuclide injections. METHODS: All consecutive patients (n=309) undergoing SPET MPI during the first 6 months of 2014 constituted the study group. The scoring system is based on these characteristics: age >65 years (1 point), diabetes (2 points), typical chest pain (2 points), congestive heart failure (3 points), abnormal ECG (4 points), male gender (4 points), and documented previous CAD (5 points). The patients were divided on the basis of the prediction score into 3 classes of risk for an abnormal stress-first protocol. RESULTS: An abnormal stress SPET MPI was present in 7/31 patients (23%) with a low risk score, in 24/90 (27%) with an intermediate score risk, and in 124/188 (66%) with an high score risk. ROC curve analysis showed good prediction of abnormal stress MPI. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest an appropriate use of a pre-test clinical prediction formula of abnormal stress MPI in a routine clinical setting.

Complementary therapy in polycystic ovary syndrome.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disease. PCOS afflicts 5 to 10 % of women of reproductive age. The symptoms are: amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, hirsutism, obesity, infertility, chronic hyperandrogenic anovulation and acne. OTHER RISK FACTORS AGGRAVATE THIS CONDITION: insulin resistance, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, inflammation and subclinical cardiovascular disease. Anxiety, depression and reduced quality of life are also common. This review highlights the mechanisms and the beneficial effects of acupuncture, exercise and resveratrol on animal models and on humans affected by PCOS.

Meiotic pairing of B chromosomes, multiple sexual system, and Robertsonian fusion in the red brocket deer Mazama americana (Mammalia, Cervidae).

Deer species of the genus Mazama show significant inter- and intraspecific chromosomal variation due to the occurrence of rearrangements and B chromosomes. Given that carriers of aneuploidies and structural rearrangements often show anomalous chromosome pairings, we here performed a synaptonemal complex analysis to study chromosome pairing behavior in a red brocket deer (Mazama americana) individual that is heterozygous for a Robertsonian translocation, is a B chromosome carrier, and has a multiple sex chromosome system (XY1Y2). The synaptonemal complex in spermatocytes showed normal chromosome pairings for all chromosomes, including the autosomal and sex trivalents. The electromicrographs showed homology among B chromosomes since they formed bivalents, but they also appeared as univalents, indicating their anomalous behavior and non-Mendelian segregation. Thus, synaptonemal complex analysis is a useful tool to evaluate the role of B chromosomes and rearrangements during meiosis on the intraspecific chromosomal variation that is observed in the majority of Mazama species.