Biomedical subjects

B B Sherwin

Publications and source records attributed to B B Sherwin.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1987

Food cravings, mood, and the menstrual cycle.

The primary objective of the present investigation was to document positive changes in food cravings, food consumption, and mood changes over the menstrual cycle and to explore the relation between these factors and dieting habits. A total of 32 female undergraduates completed daily self-reports of food cravings, foods eaten, and mood, for 5 or more weeks. Comparisons of these measures in the 10 days preceding (luteal phase) and 10 days following menstruation onset (follicular phase) revealed that both food cravings and amount eaten were greater in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase. Although women also experienced less positive affect in the luteal phase, there was no correlation between mood and either cravings or amount eaten. Women rated as chronic dieters craved less than those rated an nondieters. The findings on mood and eating confirm previous research, whereas those on cravings extend such research by suggesting that carbohydrate cravings may be augmented by the luteal phase in healthy women.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

The relationship between retrospective premenstrual symptom reporting and present oral contraceptive use.

The premenstrual assessment form (PAF) was used to assess the degree and type of premenstrual changes reported by 101 oral contraceptive users and 149 non-users (aged 18-45 yr) attending general health and gynaecology clinics. Women using oral contraceptives did not complain of fewer or less severe symptoms overall, but their severity scores on the subscales of premenstrual anxiety, fatigue, low mood, water retention, and impaired social functioning were significantly lower than those of non-users. The duration of oral contraceptive use and the type of preparation (combined or phased) taken were not related to the degree of premenstrual change reported. Complaints of symptoms beginning more than two days before menstruation were less frequently reported by pill-users (p less than 0.01) and were associated with a greater severity of all types of premenstrual change (p less than 0.0001). Women who had experienced difficulties tolerating oral contraceptives reported a greater number of moderate/severe premenstrual changes (p less than 0.0001).

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Differential symptom response to parenteral estrogen and/or androgen administration in the surgical menopause.

The investigation of estrogen and/or androgen administration on physical and psychological symptoms in the surgical menopause was carried out in a prospective, double-blind, crossover design. When patients who received either a combined estrogen-androgen drug or androgen alone were compared with those who received estrogen alone or placebo, energy level, well-being, and appetite were increased (p less than 0.01). The androgen-containing preparations also induced lower somatic, psychological, and total scores on the menopausal index. Superior functioning in the androgen-treated groups occurred in association with higher plasma testosterone levels during the treatment phases (p less than 0.01). These data suggest that reduced levels of circulating testosterone subsequent to bilateral oophorectomy may play an important role in the development of physical and psychological symptoms that are frequent sequelae of this surgical procedure.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Sex steroids and affect in the surgical menopause: a double-blind, cross-over study.

The effect of estrogen and/or androgen on mood in surgically menopausal women was investigated with a prospective, double-blind, cross-over design. Oophorectomized women who received either estrogen (E), androgen (A), or a combined estrogen-androgen preparation (E-A) parenterally attained lower depression scores during both treatment phases compared to a placebo group (PL), coincident with their higher plasma estrogen and testosterone levels. When steroids were withdrawn, depression scores of all oophorectomized women were significantly higher than those of a hysterectomized control group with intact ovaries (CON). The A group also had higher hostility scores than the E, PL, and CON groups. These data provide evidence of a covariation between circulating levels of estrogen and testosterone and certain affects in healthy women.

Adult↗

PubMed1985

Changes in sexual behavior as a function of plasma sex steroid levels in post-menopausal women.

Eight women who had been maintained on a combined estrogen-androgen drug since hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy 2 yr previously were investigated for changes in sexual behavior during the course of 1 treatment cycle. Following intramuscular injection of both sex steroids, plasma estradiol levels were within the normal range of young, cycling women but plasma testosterone exceeded the upper limit of normal female values. Sexual motivational behaviors (desire, fantasies and arousal) covaried with plasma steroid levels. Rates of coitus and orgasm, however, were unrelated to the changing levels of circulating hormones. A differential effect of the sex steroids on various aspects of sexual functioning was thus confirmed.

Castration↗

PubMed1984

Effects of parenteral administration of estrogen and androgen on plasma hormone levels and hot flushes in the surgical menopause.

In a prospective, double-blind, crossover study, it was found that surgically menopausal women who received an estrogen drug alone and those who were given a combined estrogen-androgen preparation reported a significantly reduced frequency of hot flushes compared to a placebo group (p less than 0.01) coincident with their higher total plasma estrogen levels (p less than 0.01). The administration of testosterone alone, however, was ineffective in alleviating hot flushes, even though these patients had plasma estrogen values that were not different from those of women with intact ovaries. It was proposed that, in women with very low levels of endogenous estrogens, changes in sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations induced by exogenous testosterone may reduce the amount of non-SHBG-bound estrogens, thereby obviating estrogenic effects on hot flushes.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Affective changes with estrogen and androgen replacement therapy in surgically menopausal women.

Otherwise healthy surgically menopausal women who had been receiving either an intramuscular estrogen-androgen (E-A) combined preparation or estrogen alone (E) long-term had more positive moods than an untreated control group (CON) coincident with their higher levels of circulating estradiol (E2). Women who received both E2 and testosterone (T) felt more composed, elated, and energetic than those who were given E alone. These findings confirm that mood covaries with circulating estradiol levels in generally healthy, nondepressed women. Possible mechanisms of action of the sex steroids on affect are discussed.

Depressive Disorder↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Sex hormones and psychological functioning in postmenopausal women.

Women who seek medical care around the time of menopause frequently report changes in one or more aspects of psychological functioning. The etiology of these symptoms is likely multifactorial and, undoubtedly, individual and sociocultural factors are important determinants. The known psychotropic properties of the sex hormones provide reason to believe that the drastic decrease in sex steroid production at menopause is also causally related to the development of psychological symptoms in some women. Indeed, prospective, controlled studies show that exogenous estrogen administered to postmenopausal women alleviates depressive symptoms in a dose-dependent manner. Second, accumulating evidence is beginning to suggest that estrogen helps to maintain verbal memory in aging women to the exclusion of effects on visual memory or on other cognitive functions. Finally, whereas exogenous estrogen is important for the integrity of genital tissues, it would now seem that testosterone is the hormone most critically implicated in the maintenance of libido, or sexual desire, in women just as it is in men.

Affect↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Relationships among cortisol (CRT), dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS), and memory in a longitudinal study of healthy elderly men and women.

At test times 18 months apart (Time 1 and Time 2), men (n Time 1 = 31, Time 2 = 23), women estrogen-users (n Time 1 = 14, Time 2 = 10), and women estrogen non-users (n Time 1 = 41, Time 2 = 27), whose average age was 72.1 and 73.4 years at Time 1 and Time 2, respectively, were tested with a battery of neuropsychological tests measuring verbal memory, visual memory, concentration/attention, language fluency and semantic memory. Plasma levels of CRT and DHEAS were assayed by radioimmunoassay at both test times. The men had higher DHEAS levels than both groups of women at both test times (p < 0.001) and also had a higher DHEAS/CRT ratio compared to the estrogen non-users (p < 0.05). Although there were no group differences in CRT levels at either time, CRT levels increased in the estrogen non-using women from Time 1 to Time 2 (p < 0.001). Subjects with lower CRT levels performed better than those with higher levels on several tests of declarative memory (p < 0.05). Men and estrogen-users had higher Digit Span scores compared to female estrogen non-users at both test times (p < 0.01), and women estrogen-users also had higher Backward Digit Span scores than non-users (p < 0.05). Both groups of women performed better than men on Category Retrieval (p < 0.01). These findings suggest that higher CRT levels in elderly men and women are associated with poorer explicit memory functioning; however, these results failed to provide any evidence that DHEAS is protective against declarative memory decline with aging.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Androgen enhances sexual motivation in females: a prospective, crossover study of sex steroid administration in the surgical menopause.

Various parameters of sexual functioning were assessed in a prospective, crossover investigation of 53 surgically menopausal women. Patients randomly received either an estrogen-androgen combined preparation, an estrogen-alone drug, an androgen-alone drug, or a placebo. Also included were a group of women who had undergone hysterectomy and whose ovaries had been left intact. Two treatment phases, each of 3 months' duration, were separated by an intervening placebo month. Additionally, plasma levels of total estrogens and testosterone were assayed four times during the study concurrent with monitoring of sexual behaviors. It was clear that exogenous androgen enhanced the intensity of sexual desire and arousal and the frequency of sexual fantasies in hysterectomized and oophorectomized women. However, there was no evidence that testosterone affected physiologic response or interpersonal aspects of sexual behavior. These findings suggest that the major impact of androgen in women is on sexual motivation and not on sexual activity per se.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The role of androgen in the maintenance of sexual functioning in oophorectomized women.

Five aspects of sexual behavior were monitored daily in three groups of women who had undergone total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy approximately 4 years ago for benign disease. One group had been receiving an estrogen-androgen preparation intramuscularly once a month since their surgery (E-A). The second group had been receiving estrogen alone (E) and the third group of women had remained untreated. Plasma estradiol and testosterone were measured at an established baseline and again on days 2, 4, 8, 15, 21, and 28 postinjection. Women who received both sex steroids reported higher rates of sexual desire (p less than 0.01), sexual arousal (p less than 0.01), and numbers of fantasies (p less than 0.01) than those who were either given E or who were untreated. Moreover, changes in these behaviors covaried with plasma testosterone but not with plasma estradiol levels during the treatment month as the drug was being metabolized. Rates of coitus and orgasm were also higher in the E-A group during the first two postinjection weeks (p less than 0.01) coincident with their higher testosterone levels. These findings imply that androgen may be critical for the maintenance of optimal levels of sexual functioning in postmenopausal women.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Higher levels of plasma estradiol and testosterone in healthy elderly men compared with age-matched women may protect aspects of explicit memory.

OBJECTIVE: To assess longitudinally the relationships between plasma levels of estradiol (E2) and free testosterone (T) and cognitive functioning in elderly men, women who use estrogen, and women who do not use estrogen. DESIGN: At two test times 18 months apart (time 1 and time 2), men (time 1, n = 31; time 2, n = 23), women who were using estrogen (time 1, n = 14; time 2, n = 10), and women who were not using estrogen (time 1, n = 41; time 2, n = 27), whose average age was 72.1 and 73.4 years at time 1 and time 2, respectively, were administered a battery of neuropsychological tests that measured verbal memory, visual memory, concentration and attention, language fluency, and semantic memory. Plasma levels of E2 and free T were assessed by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: The men had higher free T levels than both groups of women at both test times. Although women who were using estrogen had higher E2 levels than those of the men and of the women who were not using estrogen, the men's E2 levels were also significantly higher than those of the women who were not using estrogen. Moreover, the women who were using estrogen and the men had higher Forward Digit Span scores compared with the women who were not using estrogen at both test times, and women who were using estrogen had higher Backward Digit Span scores than those who were not using estrogen. Both groups of women performed better than the men on the Category Retrieval Test (verbal fluency). The performance of women who were using estrogen on the Delayed Selective Reminding Test (long-term rote memory) improved over time compared with that of the men and of the women who were not using estrogen. CONCLUSIONS: These findings raise the possibility that higher E2 levels in elderly men and in women who use estrogen may protect against some declines in explicit memory with normal aging.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Use of combined estrogen-androgen preparations in the postmenopause: evidence from clinical studies.

This article reviews the effects, on clinical symptoms, such as energy level and aspects of sexual functioning in postmenopausal women, of adding testosterone to an estrogen replacement regimen. The efficacy of combined estrogen-androgen preparations on bone density and lipoprotein lipid metabolism is also reviewed. Clinical recommendations for use of combined therapy are described with respect to specific symptoms.

Aged↗