Female adiposity and time-to-pregnancy: a multiethnic prospective cohort.

STUDY QUESTION: Are higher overall and central adiposity associated with reduced fecundability, measured by time-to-pregnancy (TTP), in Asian women? SUMMARY ANSWER: Higher overall adiposity, but not central adiposity, was associated with longer TTP in Asian women. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: High body mass index (BMI) has been associated with a longer TTP, although the associations of body composition and distribution with TTP are less clear. There are no previous studies of TTP in Asian women, who have a relatively higher percentage of body fat and abdominal fat at relatively lower BMI. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Prospective preconception cohort using data from 477 Asian (Chinese, Malay and Indian) women who were planning to conceive and enrolled in the Singapore PREconception Study of long-Term maternal and child Outcomes (S-PRESTO) study, 2015-2017. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Women's mean age was 30.7 years. Overall adiposity was assessed by BMI, sum of 4-site skinfold thicknesses (SFT) and total body fat percentage (TBF%, measured using air displacement plethysmography); central adiposity was assessed by waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and A body Shape Index (ABSI). Pregnancy occurring within one year from recruitment was ascertained by ultrasonography. Those who did not conceive within one year of recruitment, were lost to follow-up, or initiated fertility treatment were censored. TTP was measured in cycles. Discrete-time proportional hazards models were used to estimate the fecundability ratio (FR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each anthropometric measure in association with fecundability, adjusting for confounders. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Compared to women with a normal BMI of 18.5-22.9 kg/m2, women with higher BMI of 23-27.4 and ≥27.5 kg/m2 showed lower FR of 0.66 (95% CI 0.45, 0.97) and 0.53 (0.31, 0.89), respectively. Compared to women in the lowest quartile of SFT (25-52.9 mm), those in the highest quartile of ≥90.1 mm showed lower FR of 0.58 (95% CI 0.36, 0.95). Compared to women in the lowest quartile of TBF% (13.6-27.2%), those in the upper two quartiles of 33.0-39.7% and ≥39.8% showed lower FR of 0.56 (95% CI 0.32, 0.98) and 0.43 (0.24, 0.80), respectively. Association of high BMI with reduced fecundability was particularly evident among nulliparous women. Measures of central adiposity (WC, WHR, WHtR, ABSI) were not associated with fecundability. LIMITATIONS REASONS FOR CAUTION: Small sample size could restrict power of analysis.The analysis was confined to planned pregnancies, which could limit generalizability of findings to non-planned pregnancies, estimated at around 44% in Singapore. Information on the date of last menstrual period for each month was not available, hence the accuracy of self-reported menstrual cycle length could not be validated, potentially introducing error into TTP estimation. Measures of exposures and covariates such as cycle length were not performed repeatedly over time; cycle length might have changed during the period before getting pregnant. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Other than using BMI as the surrogate measure of body fat, we provide additional evidence showing that higher amounts of subcutaneous fat that based on the measure of SFT at the sites of biceps, triceps, suprailiac and subscapular, and TBF% are associated with longer TTP. Achieving optimal weight and reducing total percentage body fat may be a potential intervention target to improve female fertility. The null results observed between central adiposity and TTP requires confirmation in further studies. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This research is supported by Singapore National Research Foundation under its Translational and Clinical Research Flagship Programme and administered by the Singapore Ministry of Health's National Medical Research Council, (NMRC/TCR/004-NUS/2008; NMRC/TCR/012-NUHS/2014). Additional funding is provided by the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. Y.S.C., K.M.G., F.Y. and Y.S.L. have received reimbursement to speak at conferences sponsored by companies selling nutritional products. Y.S.C., K.M.G. and S.Y.C. are part of an academic consortium that has received research funding from Abbott, Nutrition, Nestle and Danone. Other authors declared no conflicts of interest. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: N/A.

Long-term safety of monthly zoledronic acid therapy beyond 1 year in patients with advanced cancer involving bone (LoTESS): A multicentre prospective phase 4 study.

Malignant bone disease can cause significant morbidity. Monthly zoledronic acid (ZOL) reduces skeletal complications; however, limited data are available regarding long-term safety. We aimed to assess efficacy and safety of ZOL beyond 1 year of treatment. We prospectively evaluated 73 patients; breast cancer (n = 29), castrate-resistant prostate cancer (n = 13), multiple myeloma (n = 31) from 2006 to 2008 in 19 cancer centres. All patients were diagnosed with bone disease and had completed 1-2 years of monthly ZOL (4 mg) and received a further 1-2 years of therapy following contemporary guidelines for managing risks of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) and renal toxicity. Overall rates of skeletal-related events (SREs), renal impairment and ONJ were assessed. Over the additional 1 year of treatment, only 5.5% (n = 4) of patients developed a new SRE. The overall Kaplan-Meier estimate for SRE incidence after 48 weeks on study was 6.75% (95 CI: 2.5-17.3). Although 51% of patients reported serious adverse events, only two cases were suspected as ZOL related. No patients had confirmed ONJ. The observed incidence of new renal impairment was 11% (none due to ZOL). Our study confirms the benefit over risk of continuing monthly ZOL for at least 2 years in patients with advanced cancer involving bone.

Inflammatory Myeloradiculitis Secondary to Pembrolizumab: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are the most important new medications in oncology and include inhibitors of programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) such as Pembrolizumab, Nivolumab, and Cemiplimab. These anticancer agents prevent tumour immune evasion and have been associated with a range of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) including those involving the nervous system. In this case report and literature review, we present the first case of inflammatory myeloradiculitis secondary to Pembrolizumab. We also summarise the characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of other cases reported in the literature which include a component of myelitis. Finally, we make general recommendations on management.

Analgesic infiltration at the site of bone marrow harvest significantly reduces donor morbidity.

Little information has been published concerning the severity of pain experienced by bone marrow donors or the use of local analgesia following bone marrow harvesting procedures. The aims of this study were to assess duration and severity of pain experienced by bone marrow donors and the effectiveness of bupivacaine as a local analgesic agent following bone marrow harvest. During a single blinded randomised study of 24 bone marrow donors, 10 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine was infiltrated either into the right or left posterior iliac crest of the donor immediately following bone marrow harvest. Donors were requested to record the level of pain experienced at the right and left harvest sites on a pain rating score sheet (0-10) at time intervals of 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h following harvest. A significant reduction in pain was experienced at the harvest site infiltrated with bupivacaine when compared with the control site during the first 3 days post-harvest. It is recommended that bupivacaine be infiltrated routinely into the harvest sites of all bone marrow donors to reduce the pain experienced in the 3 days following harvest.

Persistent ectopic pregnancy--a case report.

The following case report describes a case of persistent ectopic pregnancy following laparoscopic segmental salpingectomy. The patient had an unusual presentation of acute abdomen and focal haemorrhage from omental implantation of the trophoblastic tissue.

Successful laparoscopic treatment of an abdominal pregnancy in the broad ligament.

Laparoscopic management of tubal ectopic pregnancy is the ideal form of treatment in most tertiary centres. Approximately 1% of ectopic pregnancies are abdominal pregnancies and these are usually managed by laparotomy. We present the first report of successful laparoscopic treatment of a 6.5 cm abdominal pregnancy located in the broad ligament of a 25-year-old woman.

A three year review on surgical treatment of tubo-ovarian abscess.

The authors made a 3-year retrospective study of cases of tubo-ovarian abscess surgically treated in KK Women's and Children's Hospital. In the period studied (1998 through 2000), there were 36 such cases. A total of 11 patients underwent laparoscopic treatment while 25 patients underwent laparotomy. The study demonstrates the differences in the patient profile and the short term morbidity in each mode of surgical treatment and the changing trends in the surgical treatment of tubo-ovarian abscess.

Ovarian steroidogenic responsiveness to exogenous gonadotropin stimulation in young and middle-aged female rats.

Reproductive aging in the female rat is associated with gradual declines in LH secretion and ovarian progesterone (P) production. This study examined whether the influences of aging on P levels reflect decreased ovarian responsiveness to gonadotropin stimulation, as opposed to changes in gonadotropin release. Young and middle-aged regularly cyclic female rats received sodium pentobarbital to block endogenous proestrous luteinizing hormone (LH) surges, followed by administration of various doses of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Similar treatments were performed in middle-aged acyclic persistent-estrous (PE) females. Injection of hCG resulted in equivalent plasma hCG levels in each treatment group. At the lowest hCG dose tested, a significant rise in plasma P levels was observed in middle-aged cyclic rats, but not in young cyclic or middle-aged PE females. This unexpected finding may reflect accelerated follicular development in middle-aged cyclic females, as suggested by a previous study. At the intermediate dose, young and middle-aged cyclic but not PE rats displayed significantly increased P in response to hCG. At the highest dose tested, all three groups of rats displayed increased P levels after hCG stimulation. However, P concentrations were significantly lower in middle-aged PE than regularly cyclic females. Northern and slot blot hybridization analyses revealed that ovarian mRNA levels for cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage, the rate-limiting enzyme in P synthesis, were markedly reduced in PE rats following hCG stimulation. These findings indicate that ovarian responsiveness to gonadotropin stimulation is impaired in middle-aged PE, but not regularly cyclic rats, and suggest influences of cycle status on the biochemical and molecular mechanisms regulating ovarian steroid production. Furthermore, these findings reveal that attenuated P production in middle-aged proestrous rats is due to attenuated preovulatory LH surges, rather than decreased ovarian sensitivity to LH.

Bisphosphonate infusions: patient preference, safety and clinic use.

GOALS OF WORK: We set out to assess the preference of patients with common cancers involving bone receiving intravenous bisphosphonate therapy for either pamidronate (P) or zoledronic acid (Z) and their preference for the location of the infusion (clinic or home). We also aimed to monitor these patients' renal safety, and to compare their time in clinic to receive P and Z infusions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Enrolled in the study were 184 patients, and all received initial infusions of Z (so any first infusion reactions did not confound preferences for P). For their second and third infusions, patients were randomized to receive Z then P or P then Z, and questioned on their preferences. For up to 1 year they continued on Z infusions every 3-4 weeks, while their renal safety was monitored. Where practical, later infusions were given at home (rather than in the clinic) and patients questioned on their preferred infusion location. In a convenience subset of 43 patients, clinic use for Z and P infusions was also measured by timing infusions and other procedures. MAIN RESULTS: Of 144 patients who received a third infusion, 138 responded to questions on bisphosphonate preference, and of these 138, 92% (127) preferred Z to P, because shorter infusions caused less disruption to their day. Only 12% of eligible patients (16/138) received home infusions, but 13/14 questioned preferred this location. Among 184 patients, 19 episodes of renal impairment were noted, mostly owing to disease progression (e.g. obstructive uropathy), with none linked to Z therapy. The mean clinic time taken to receive Z and any concomitant therapy was about half that for P (78 vs 161 min). CONCLUSIONS: Cancer patients prefer shorter bisphosphonate infusions-and at home, where practical. Regular Z 4 mg infusions appear to be safe in these patients, with routine monitoring of serum creatinine. Using Z rather than P could save busy cancer centres time and improve patient satisfaction.