Effect of short-term tibolone treatment on risk markers for cardiovascular disease in healthy postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this prospective randomized controlled cross sectional study was to evaluate the effect of a six month tibolone treatment in healthy postmenopausal women on biochemical CVD markers by calculating the changes of the blood serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides (Tg), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), homocysteine (Hcy), and endothelin-1 (ET-1) at the beginning of the treatment and after six months. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-two healthy postmenopausal women were enrolled in a prospective, randomized, case-controlled outpatient trial. Group 1 (n = 26) received 2,5 mg/d tibolone for six months, while Group 2 (n = 26) received no treatment. Serum levels ofTC, LDL, HDL, Tg, hsCRP, Hcy, and ET-1 were evaluated at baseline and after six months. RESULTS: The two groups did not statistically differ at baseline characteristics. In Group 1 tibolone treatment decreased significantly TC (p = 0.01), HDL (p < 0.001), and Tg (p < 0.001) serum levels while a significant increase ofhsCRP (p < 0.001) was observed. Finally no changes were noticed on LDL, Hcy, and ET-1 serum levels. Regarding Group 2, no changes were observed. CONCLUSION: Short-term tibolone treatment in healthy postmenopausal women exerts a mixed action, acting beneficially in some markers (TC, LDL, Tg, Hcy, and ET-1) where as detrimentally in others (HDL, hsCRP).

Parity affects pregnancy outcomes in women 35 and older.

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION: The objective of the study was to examine the impact of parity on pregnancy outcomes in women 35 years and older. METHODS: The study was a retrospective cohort of singleton pregnancies of women aged > or = 35 years old during the period 2004-2008. Women were divided in two groups: group 1 included primigravidas and group 2 those with at least one past labor. Epidemiological characteristics, obstetric and neonatal outcomes were analyzed using the t test and chi-square test. RESULTS: 816 out of 5834 (14%) cases involved women aging > or = 35 years, 234 (28.7%) of which were nulliparous and 582 (61.3%) multiparous. Rate of cesarean section was 2.4 fold higher for primigravidas (p < .0001). Fetal distress, prolonged labor and Neonate Intensive Care Unity (NICU) admission were also significantly higher in group 1. CONCLUSION: Adverse pregnancy outcomes were increased in primigravidas of 35 years and older compared to multigravidas of the same age.

Epidemiological characteristics and trends of caesarean delivery in a University Hospital in Northern Greece.

BACKGROUND: Current obstetric practice is characterised by a continuous increase in caesarean section (CS) delivery rates. OBJECTIVE: Main purpose of our study was to estimate the overall and annual rates of CS in a University Hospital in Greece. METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review of all singleton pregnancies delivered by CS between 2004 and 2008 at a gestational age > 24 weeks. The overall and annual CS rates were calculated. The rate of elective (Group 1) and emergency CS (Group 2) , as well as the specific indications in the two groups of the study were also analyzed. RESULTS: Overall 5362 singleton pregnancies were delivered in the period of the study. The overall CS rate was 29.2% (n = 1564). The mean ±SD maternal age in years of the women delivered by CS was 29.65 ± 6.72 years, while it was 27.10 ±5.63 years for those who delivered vaginally (P<0.0001). The overall rates of elective and emergency CS were 18.2% and 11.0% respectively in the 5-year period of the study. The most common indication for an elective CS was a previous CS (63.1%), which remained almost stable during the period of the study. The main indication for emergency CS was foetal distress in the first three years of the study, while labour progress failure was the leading indication in the last two years. CONCLUSION: In this series, the overall CS rate was high. A previous caesarean delivery accounts for about one third of all cases and constitutes the leading indication for elective CS while foetal distress is the most common indication for an emergency caesarean section.

Peroxidases, lignin and anatomy during in vitro and ex vitro rooting of gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) microshoots.

In vitro and ex vitro rooting of gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) microshoots with or without indolic-3-butyric acid (IBA) was studied in order to improve acclimatization of microplants after root formation and transplantation. Peroxidase (POD) activity and isoforms, lignin content and anatomical observations were evaluated in the course of the three interdependent phases (induction, initiation and expression) of microshoot rooting. Microshoots treated or not treated with IBA achieved high rooting percentages both in vitro and ex vitro. At the end of the 2-week acclimatization period, the percentage of surviving microplants ranged from 80% to 100%, for in vitro and ex vitro rooted microshoots, respectively. Microshoots rooted in vitro and ex vitro showed a relationship between rooting and POD activity but in a different time course. It appeared that root formation occurred after the microshoots had reached and passed a peak of maximum enzyme activity. In all treatments, electrophoretic analysis (native PAGE) of PODs revealed the appearance of one anionic and three cationic POD isoforms (C(1), C(3) and C(4)). An additional cationic POD isoform (C(2)) appeared only in the ex vitro rooting. The lignin content was similar in microshoots rooted both in vitro and ex vitro. The sequential anatomical changes during the rooting process were similar in both in vitro and ex vitro rooting treatments. In the case of in vitro rooting, pith cells had vacuoles entirely filled with a dark substance, while in the case of ex vitro rooting, pith cells contained many amyloplasts. The origin of the adventitious roots, in both rooting conditions, was located in the cambial ring. Roots with organized tissue systems emerged from the microshoot stem 10-14 days after the root induction treatments; on day 10 for rooting in vitro, while a 4-day delay was noted in microshoots rooted ex vitro.