Investigations were carried on in a private farm from Cenad, Timis County, on 14-15 months of age gimmers from the indigenous breeds Transylvanian Merino (9) and Turcana (6). The gimmers were ...inserted in 14 May 2009 with Melatonin implants of 18 mg. Blood samples were collected immediately after the insertion of the implants and after 15 and 30 days. Hormones analysis triiodothyronine (T3), triiodothyronine (T4) and progesterone level from the blood samples were assayed using ELISA method. Data shown a decrease of the progesterone levels after 30 days from the insertion of the implants, but the difference of 4.69 mg/ml is not statistically significant (p>0.05), and the triiodothyronine (T3, T4) levels have registered small and insignificant variations (p>0.05). Results may suggest that melatonin implants do not influence significant (p>0.05) the thyroid hormones (T3, T4) and the progesterone levels.
Background: Theory of "functional progesterone withdrawal" explains the role of progesterone prior to delivery. Previous studies mentioned the existence of progesterone regulation in the cervix that ...plays a role in maintaining the integrity of the cervix and cervical ripening. Cervical progesterone levels relate to activities of progesterone at the cervix, compared to its amount in circulation. The objective of this study was to measure cervical mucus progesterone levels and its correlation to plasma progesterone levels in pregnancy.
Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted in January-September 2010 at Persahabatan Hospital. The subjects were pregnant woman in the 28
th - 34
th weeks of gestational age. In total, 72 subjects who met the criteria were divided into normal pregnancy group and preterm labor group. The cervical and plasma progesterone levels were measured using The Advia Centaur® Progesterone kit, which is a commercial immunoassay with direct chemiluminescence method.
Results: There was positive correlation (r=0.539) between cervical progesterone levels with plasma progesterone levels in the preterm labor group. There was no correlation between cervical progesterone levels with plasma progesterone levels in the normal pregnancy group.
Conclusion: This study showed that cervical progesterone levels could be measured through cervical mucus. A significant positive correlation was found by this study between cervical progesterone levels and plasma progesterone levels in the preterm labor group. This study is expected to provide new insights for understanding the metabolism and the role of progesterone in maintaining cervical integrity during pregnancy, and its relation to prevention of preterm birth.
Many alternative contraceptives can be used as needed. The most effective type of contraception is injection contraception because it is relatively safe, effective, simple and inexpensive. ...Contraceptive users must be selective in choosing contraception because there is no method of contraception that is safe and effective for all acceptors. The side effects of Medroxy Progesterone Acetat injection include bleeding disorders such as amenorrhoea, weight gain, high blood pressure, acne, spotting. Medroxy Progesterone Acetat is a progestin contraceptive regimen that is often used and works long-term. The mechanism of action of Medroxy Progesterone Acetate injection is to inhibit gonadotropin secretion so that it will prevent the maturation of primary follicles in the ovary and also prevent ovulation and cause endometrial depletion.The research design is the post test only control group design. The population in this research are the white rats species Rattus norvegicus Wistar strain. The samples are taken randomly from all populations that met the following sample criteria: Female rats, Aged 12-14 weeks, having a body weight of 150 - 200 grams.The results showed that Medroxy Progesterone Acetate hormone affects the thickness of the endometrium, and there is a difference in the histological picture of endometrial thickness due to the administration of the Medroxy Progesterone Acetate hormone and without the administration of the Medroxy Progesterone Acetate hormone
•Ratings for visual food cues do not change during the menstrual cycle.•In women with supraphysiological estrogen levels, food ratings do not vary.•Estrogen and progesterone levels do not correlate ...with ratings of visual food cues.•Our large sample, cycle validation and hormonal measurements allow reliable results.•Future investigations should include at least two cycles and use a balanced design.
As eating behavior changes in relation to the menstrual cycle and weight changes with menopausal transition, ovarian hormones appear to be involved in regulating eating behavior. However, observations are contradictory and are difficult to compare, due to methodological problems related to nutritional epidemiology. To better understand the relationship between ovarian steroid hormones and eating behavior, our study evaluates women's responses to visual food cues at different points in the menstrual cycle with their specific serum estrogen/progesterone levels and women's responses in the case of strong estrogen changes in the context of fertility treatments.
We collected data from 129 women, 44 of whom received in vitro fertilization (IVF) at the Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, University Hospital Zurich. A total of 85 women with natural cycles were recruited at the University Hospital Zurich (n = 37) and at the Hannover Medical School (n = 48). Our observational study used 4 different measurement time points across the natural cycle and 2 measurement time points in women with supraphysiological estradiol levels during fertility treatments. Using a second cycle, we then tested our results for replication. At these predefined time points, women were shown pictures of 11 categories of food, with 4 items for each category and blood samples for measurement of hormone levels were taken. Food preferences registered at the time of the investigation were indicated on a visual analogue scale (0–100).
We did not find any statistically significant association between women's serum hormone levels and the rating of visually presented food, either during the menstrual cycle or during fertility treatments after controlling for multiple testing (all p > 0.005). Ratings for fruits, vegetables, and carbohydrates showed a significant linear decline throughout the first menstrual cycle (p < 0.01), which did not replicate in the second cycle (p > 0.05). In contrast, the ratings for sweets showed a significant linear decline in both cycles (both p < 0.01), with a mean rating of 54.2 and 48.8 in the menstrual phase of the first and second cycle, respectively, to a mean rating of 47.7 and 43.4 in the premenstrual phase of the first and second cycle, respectively. During fertility treatments, no food rating showed a significant change (all p > 0.05). Mood such as negative and positive affects did not influence ratings for visual food cues neither throughout the menstrual cycles nor during fertility treatment.
Serum levels of estradiol and progesterone do not correlate with food ratings in women, even when estradiol levels are above the physiological level of a natural menstrual cycle. Since, except for sweets, significant changes in food ratings in a first cycle did not replicate in a second menstrual cycle, significant findings from the literature based on animal or human studies focusing on a single-cycle have to be interpreted with caution.
Several studies show that a significantly stronger association is obvious between increased body mass index (BMI) and higher breast cancer incidence. Furthermore, obese women are at higher risk of ...all-cause and breast cancer specific mortality when compared to non-obese women with breast cancer. In this context, increased levels of estrogens due to excessive aromatization activity of the adipose tissue, overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, insulin resistance, hyperactivation of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) pathways, adipocyte-derived adipokines, hypercholesterolemia and excessive oxidative stress contribute to the development of breast cancer in obese women. While higher breast cancer risk with hormone replacement therapy is particularly evident among lean women, in postmenopausal women who are not taking exogenous hormones, general obesity is a significant predictor for breast cancer. Moreover, increased plasma cholesterol leads to accelerated tumor formation and exacerbates their aggressiveness. In contrast to postmenopausal women, premenopausal women with high BMI are inversely associated with breast cancer risk. Nevertheless, life-style of women for breast cancer risk is regulated by avoiding the overweight and a high-fat diet. Estrogen-plus-progestin hormone therapy users for more than 5 years have elevated risks of both invasive ductal and lobular breast cancer. Additionally, these cases are more commonly node-positive and have a higher cancer-related mortality. Collectively, in this chapter, the impacts of obesity-related estrogen, cholesterol, saturated fatty acid, leptin and adiponectin concentrations, aromatase activity, leptin and insulin resistance on breast cancer patients are evaluated. Obesity-related prognostic factors of breast cancer also are discussed at molecular basis.
To evaluate the choroidal thickness and choroidal vascular index (CVI) in healthy women using the combined oral contraceptive pill (COCp).
This prospective study included 30 women using COCp (3 mg ...drospirenone/0.03 mg ethinylestradiol) for contraception for at least 1 year and 30 healthy women who did not use COCp. Intraocular pressure (IOP), axial length (AL) and body mass index (BMI) values of all participants were recorded. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) and choroidal thickness at 1500 micron distance in nasal and temporal regions (NCT, TCT) were measured through optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. Luminal, stromal and total choroidal area values were evaluated by binarization method. The ratio of the luminal choroidal area to the total choroidal area was determined as the CVI value.
There was no statistically significant difference in IOP and AL values between the two groups at no significant difference in age and BMI index (p > 0.05, for all). SCT, NCT and TCT values were no significant difference in the two groups (p > 0.05, for all). Luminal and stromal choroidal area values were found to be lower in the group using COCp (p = 0.01, p = 0.02 respectively). The CVI value was 62.1 ± 3.6% in the COCp group and 65.6 ± 4.3% in the control group. There was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of CVI value (p = 0.002).
To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate CVI in women using COCp, and CVI was found to be lower in individuals using COCp. Therefore, CVI can be used in the follow-up of possible ocular pathologies that may develop in individuals using COCp.
Abstrak Progesteron dan β-hCG sangat berperan penting untuk mempertahankan kehamilan, terutama pada awal kehamilan sehingga rendahnya kadar progesteron dan kadar β-hCG diduga dapat menyebabkan ...terjadinya abortus. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui hubungan antara kadar progesteron dan kadar β-hCG dengan kejadian abortus. Rancangan penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kohort retrospektif. Subjek penelitian terdiri atas 70 orang ibu hamil yang berobat ke praktik Dokter Spesialis Kandungan dan Kebidanan Konsultan Fertilisasi dan Endokrinologi Reproduksi di Klinik Rasi Banda Aceh. Penelitian ini dianalisis dengan uji chi-square dengan tingkat kepercayaan p ≤ 0,05 dan perhitungan resiko relatif. Dari hasil penelitian didapatkan kejadian abortus sebanyak 27,1% (19 orang). Pada pasien yang mengalami abortus kadar progesteron rata-rata (cut point) adalah 18,58 ng/ml dan kadar β-hCG rata-rata (cut point) adalah 22.714 mIU/ml. Berdasarkan hasil uji chi-square diperoleh hasil yaitu ada hubungan antara kadar progesteron (p=0,005) dan kadar β-hCG (p=0,006) dengan kejadian abortus. Pasien dengan progesteron rendah akan mengalami resiko abortus 5,7 kali dan pasien dengan β-hCG rendah akan mengalami resiko abortus 2,8 kali. Jadi, dapat disimpulkan bahwa ada hubungan antara kadar progesteron dan kadar β-hCG dengan kejadian abortus pada ibu hamil dengan usia kehamilan ≤12 minggu.
The human tendency to share goods with others at personal costs declines across the perceived social distance to them, an observation termed social discounting. Cumulating evidence suggests that ...social preferences are influenced by the agent’s neurohormonal state. Here we tested whether endogenous fluctuations in steroid hormone compositions across the menstrual cycle were associated with differences in generosity in a social discounting task. Adult healthy, normally-cycling, women made incentivized decisions between high selfish rewards for themselves and lower generous rewards for themselves but also for other individuals at variable social distances from their social environment. We determined participants’ current levels of menstrual-cycle-dependent steroid hormones via salivary sampling. Results revealed that the increase in progesterone levels as well as the decrease in estradiol levels, but not changes in testosterone or cortisol, across the menstrual cycle, accounted for increased generosity specifically toward socially close others, but not toward remote strangers.
•Generosity toward others declines across the perceived social distance to them.•Adult healthy women made incentivized decisions between selfish and generous rewards.•Menstrual-cycle-dependent steroid hormone levels were measured via salivary sampling.•Increase in progesterone and decrease in estradiol predicted increased generosity.•Generosity increased toward socially close others but not toward remote strangers.
•Free-cycling women outperformed men in the recognition of complex emotions.•Sex-hormone status affected odor discrimination performance.•Odor discrimination and empathy-related measures were not ...correlated.
Reports of a female advantage in empathy-related measures suggest a role for sex hormones, although the data are inconsistent. Studies also report similar sex differences in human olfactory perception. In rodents, olfaction is involved in detecting and integrating socially relevant information and is modulated by the brain actions of estrogens. We hypothesized that olfaction may untangle the mixed evidence on the relationship between sex hormones and empathy-related measures (cognitive and affective) in humans. To test this, we examined 60 healthy participants in three sex-hormone-status groups: free-cycling women tested in cycle phases with higher 17-β estradiol and progesterone, oral-contraceptive users (low estradiol and progesterone), and men. We assessed empathy-related measures, facial mimicry (from zygomaticus and corrugator muscle activity), and odor discrimination ability. In the empathy-related measures and facial mimicry, we did not find overall group effects or meaningful associations with salivary levels of estradiol, progesterone, or testosterone. Free-cycling women only outperformed men in the recognition of emotions from pictures of the eye region, but sex hormones were unrelated to emotion recognition performance. Oral contraceptive users showed higher scores in the affective empathy-related measure when viewing negative emotions, with no relation to hormone levels. Free-cycling women exhibited the strongest facial mimicry (viewing female, but not male protagonists), positively associated with progesterone. Finally, the groups differed in odor discrimination, with free-cycling women outperforming men. However, odor discrimination ability and empathy-related performance were not correlated. Our results support a role of sex hormones in odor perception and in empathy-related measures, to a certain extent. However, no common underlying mechanism was found.
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