OBGYN.net Staff

A 35-year-old nulliparous woman with a giant uterine myoma is described. During the past three years she had developed a intramural myoma and a subserous myoma. Although the lesions were excised, both reappeared and were treated with GnRH analogues for 6 months.

Telemedicine is the electronic transmission of health information for the delivery of clinical care from a distance. Today it is increasingly used to provide efficiencies in the delivery of women’s health care.

Uteroplacental Bleeding Disorders During Pregnancy: Do Missing Paternal Characteristics Influence Risk?

Patients suffering from diseased and injured organs may be treated with transplanted organs. However, there is a severe shortage of donor organs which is worsening yearly due to the aging population. Scientists in the field of tissue engineering apply the principles of cell transplantation, materials science, and bioengineering to construct biological substitutes that will restore and maintain normal function in diseased and injured tissues.

Molecular Mechanisms in Uterine Epithelium during Trophoblast Binding:The Role of Small GTPase RhoA in Human Uterine Ishikawa Cells

The sperm penetration assay (SPA) is used to predict the fertilizing capacity of sperm. Thus, some programs rely on SPA scores to formulate insemination plans in conjunction with in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if a relationship exists between SPA scores and polyspermy rates during conventional IVF cycles.

About 30–40% of male infertility is due to unknown reasons. Genetic contributions to the disruption of spermatogenesis are suggested and amongst the genetic factors studied, Y chromosome microdeletions represent the most common one. Screening for microdeletions in AZFa, b and c region of Y chromosome showed a big variation among different studies.

The publication of a report in Nature in 2004 by the Tilly group suggesting that mouse ovaries are capable of generating oocytes de novo post-natally, has sparked interest in a problem long thought to have been resolved from classical studies in a variety of mammalian species.

Cervical cancer is the second most common gynecological cancer amongst women world-wide. Despite optimized protocols, standard treatments still face several disadvantages. Therefore, research aims at the development of immune-based strategies using tumor antigen-loaded dendritic cells for the induction of cellular anti-tumor immunity.

The safety and tolerability of a new highly purified, urine-derived human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) preparation [Menopur(R)] was compared with a currently available hMG [Repronex (R)] in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Evidence supporting a role for estrogen in male reproductive tract development and function has been collected from rodents and humans. These studies fall into three categories: i) localization of aromatase and the target protein for estrogen (ER-alpha and ER-beta) in tissues of the reproductive tract; ii) analysis of testicular phenotypes in transgenic mice deficient in aromatase, ER-alpha and/or ER-beta gene; and, iii) investigation of the effects of environmental chemicals on male reproduction.

Plasma Homocysteine, Fasting Insulin, and Serum Androgens as a Function of Sonographic Ovarian Features in Women Feferred for Infertility Assessement

Our guest editor for this issue of Gynaecology Forum is Hans van der Slikke, who was also guest editor for the last issue of Gynaecology Forum concerned with the Internet in 2000. I typed that editorial on my PC and emailed the draft to the publishers.

Much has changed in the World Wide Web in the 3 years since the first Internet issue of Gynaecology Forum (www.obgyn.net/medforum.asp) was published in September 2000. At that time it was still necessary to cover the history of the Internet and explain the requirements needed to access it.

Suppose you want to find a good website about gynaecology and/or obstetrics and you try the search engine Google, you will get 1,060,000 hits for gynaecology and 1,260,000 for obstetrics. Both give as the first link www.obgyn.net, ‘the Universe of Women’s Health’.

Jorge Amado, a Brazilian writer, once remarked: ‘The common bond in Latin America is poverty; there are very few cultural bonds’.

The Internet has, without question, assumed a place in the life of most physicians and many patients. Though users vary in skill of use and sophistication of inquiry, some issues are common to all. The quandary about which websites may safely be trusted is one such issue. Health website quality guidelines, easily accessed on the Internet, aid users in their decisions.

In 1935 Drs Stein and Leventhal described 7 women with irregular periods (oligomenorrhea), increased body hair (hirsutism) and obesity, who at the time of surgery were found to have enlarged ovaries with a smooth "pearly white" appearance.

The ubiquitous use of the World Wide Web to facilitate learning has been a benefactor of change, revolutionising the way in which education can be delivered and received. This technological advancement has woven together communities of learners and permitted access to huge repositories of information while eliminating distance as an obstacle to learning (Table I).

Dutch researchers find first evidence that female human embryos adjust the balance of X chromosomes before implantation in the womb. Results have implications for in vitro fertilisation and embryonic stem cell research

Ultra-fast freezing of ovarian tissue from women who have lost their fertility as a result of cancer treatment can lead to it being used in transplants with the same success rate as fresh tissue, a researcher told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

High levels of cycling training damage sperm – what can be done to protect triathletes from infertility? The high-intensity training undertaken by triathletes has a significant impact on the quality of their sperm.

Our Knowledge of Reproductive medicine has been expanded rapidly since the birth of Louise Brown, the first baby to be conceived by In vitro Fertilization in 1978. Hardly a year goes by without the development of a new or a modification of an existing method of assisted reproduction.

Extend Fertility™ and Reproductive Medicine Associates of New York (RMA of NY) today announced initial results in the ongoing Extend Fertility-sponsored multi-site study designed to further the science and efficacy of oocyte cryopreservation or “egg freezing.”

Serum Estradiol/Progesterone Ratio on Day of Embryo Transfer May Predict Reproductive OutcomeFollowing Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation and In vitro Fertilization

The association between premature ovarian failure (POF) and the FMR1 repeat number (41> CGGn< 200) has been widely investigated. Current findings suggest that the risk estimation for POF can be calculated in the offspring of women with pre-mutated FMR1 alleles.

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is a primary ovarian defect characterized by absent menarche (primary amenorrhea) or premature depletion of ovarian follicles before the age of 40 years (secondary amenorrhea).

Adenomyosis is a benign disease of the uterus in which components normally limited to the endometrium (the thin innermost uterine layer) are found within the myometrium (the middle muscular layer of the uterus). The exact prevalence of adenomyosis is not known because the diagnosis can be made only by microscopic examination of uterine specimens obtained during surgery or, less often, during biopsy.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association asserts that 43% of American women are experiencing some sort of sexual dysfunction during a 12 months period. As a result, female sexuality has become the new mass media debate. With all that exposure many women are wondering if something is wrong with them? What’s going on?

When “suddenly single” most men and women have been out of the dating game for some time. They often feel awkward, stymied or fearful when it comes to start looking for companionship again. Here’s my re-entry advice: