Vitamin D plus epigallocatechin gallate: a novel promising approach for uterine myomas.

OBJECTIVE: Uterine myomas are the most common benign tumors in females. Most myomas are asymptomatic and require no intervention or further investigations; however, almost a third of women with myomas will require a therapy. Treatment options include pharmacological approaches or surgery, and depend on symptomatology, size, number and desire for future pregnancy. Minimally invasive procedures or alternative medical treatments for handling myomas are preferred, when possible, to the radical abdominal surgery. Vitamin D and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) recently proved effective in the management of these benign tumors. Our aim was to verify the effect of combined oral vitamin D and EGCG supplementation in symptomatic women with myomas. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Symptomatic women with myomas were enrolled in this pilot study and divided in two groups: one group treated daily with two tablets of 25 µg vitamin D + 150 mg EGCG + 5 mg vitamin B6, for 4 months; the other group received no treatment (control), for the same period. Volume, number of myomas as well as severity of symptoms (SS) and quality of life (QoL) were analyzed. RESULTS: The total myoma volume significantly decreased by 34.7% in the treated group, whereas it increased by 6.9% in the control group. An improvement in the QoL of women treated with vitamin D, EGCG and vitamin B6 was reported along with a reduction of the SS. CONCLUSIONS: The combined supplementation of vitamin D and EGCG seems to be an optimal approach for the management of myomas and correlated symptoms. For the first time, we showed the cooperative effectiveness as a promising and novel treatment for myomas.

Proposal of an experimental model of fetal hydrocephalus.

There have been numerous experimental studies reported in literature that simulate congenital hydrocephalus. The various techniques that have been proposed present the obstacle of being difficult to reproduce and the results therefore, often do not match. We have proposed a new experimental model that is easily created, reproduced and that allows for precise monitoring of the hydrocephalic entity, in addiction to presenting itself as an example to follow in resolving the hydrocephalic pathology. The authors report the results relative to their case studies of 14 pregnant animals treated and they list and discuss the principal complications encountered.

Uterine myoma in pregnancy: ultrasound study.

In many cases the presence of a myomatous formation in pregnancy begins its effect in a symptomless way and is revealed only by a regular sonographic control or at the time of delivery. In other cases, however, it could represent the cause of several complications, such as increased incidence of abortion extrauterine pregnancy premature breaking of the membranes, premature delivery distocia during delivery or it could itself be the site of necrotic processes. The attitude towards this type of pathology during pregnancy has often varied. The authors report their experiences regarding 408 cases of pregnancies complicated by myoma that were followed with accurate sonographic monitoring and they evaluate the incidence of the principal complications during pregnancy at the time of delivery and the eventual influence on the fetal weight at the time of birth.

[Maternal concentration of serum digoxin and concentration in the amniotic fluid and neonatal serum]. / Concentrazioni materne di digossina sierica e concentrazione nel liquido amniotico e siero neonatale.

Digoxin was assayed in maternal and neonatal sera and in the amniotic fluid in 14 pregnant patients chronically digitalized for mitral stenosis. Neonatal serum levels of digoxin are linearly correlated with maternal concentrations of the drug, and all are inversely related to maternal creatinine clearance. Amniotic fluid levels of the drug are not related to serum levels, but relate to amniotic fluid creatinine concentration. Fetal serum levels are identical to maternal ones for all practical purposes, but bear no relation to amniotic digoxin concentration. Digoxin was assayed with a commercial kit showing very little cross-reactivity with endogenous digoxin-like cross-reacting compounds. Pitfalls in commercial digoxin assays and clinical implications are discussed.