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Biomedical subjects

H A Unnérus

Publications and source records attributed to H A Unnérus.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1985

Optic neuritis during lactation.

The condition called "lactation optic neuritis" has been previously considered a clinical entity of its own. Four women, who developed optic neuritis within 1-12 months while breast-feeding their infants, were investigated ophthalmologically and neurologically in order, to find specific clinical features for this condition. The course of the disorder was similar to classic optic neuritis without lactation. The clinical history and laboratory findings in three of the four patients suggested a demyelinating disorder. It is possible that the decreased immunosuppressive activity just after pregnancy induces the manifestation of an underlying demyelinating disease. The existence of "lactation optic neuritis," however, is questioned as a separate entity of its own. Lactation together with decreased immunosuppression may merely act as a provocateur in the onset of optic neuritis, which in many cases is the first clinical manifestation of incipient multiple sclerosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Maternal plasma prolactin levels in preeclampsia.

Maternal plasma prolactin, estradiol-17 beta, and free estriol levels were estimated in 118 normal pregnancies and in 90 patients with preeclampsia at 35 to 40 weeks' gestation. In the preeclamptic patients, the prolactin values were similar to those of normal pregnancy; the levels were not affected by the severity of disease. At 37 to 38 weeks' gestation the maternal plasma free estriol levels correlated positively with the prolactin levels in preeclampsia (r = .313; P less than .05; N = 64). No correlation was found between the levels of prolactin and estradiol-17 beta or between prolactin and urinary estrogen. Fetal distress was related to decreased plasma estradiol levels, but this was not reflected in the prolactin concentrations. The results of the present study show that the estimation of plasma prolactin level is of no clinical significance in patients with preeclampsia.

Estradiol↗
PubMed1979

Elevated plasma prolactin concentration in cholestasis of pregnancy.

The plasma concentrations of prolactin and estradiol-17 beta were measured by specific radioimmunoassays in 150 women with normal pregnancies and 76 women with cholestasis of pregnancy. At 33 to 34 weeks of gestation plasma prolactin concentrations were 187 +/- 23 ng/ml (mean +/- S.E.M.) for normal pregnancy and 341 +/- 38 ng/ml for cholestasis (p less than 0.001). At 35 to 36 weeks they were 254 +/- 24 and 355 +/- 26 ng/ml (p less than 0.01), and at 37 to 38 weeks 175 +/- 14 and 365 +/- 34 ng/ml (p less than 0.001), respectively. Higher prolactin levels in the cholestasis group were not related to differences in plasma estradiol-17 beta concentrations. No correlation was found between plasma prolactin and serum aminotransferase levels, or between prolactin levels and placental weight. The mechanisms by which plasma prolactin levels become elevated in cholestasis of pregnancy remain to be elucidated.

Cholestasis↗
PubMed1979

Pregnancy-specific beta-1-glycoprotein levels in normal and toxemic pregnancy.

Maternal plasma levels of pregnancy-specific beta-1-glycoprotein (PSBG) in 166 normal and 169 toxemic pregnancies were measured by radioimmunoassay in the third trimester. Individual PSBG levels were studied in 16 women during weeks 7 through 39 of normal pregnancy. The levels were found to increase as pregnancy progressed. During the third trimester neither normal nor toxemic pregnancies showed any circadian rhythm in PSBG levels. In toxemic pregnancies low PSBG values were seen mainly in cases with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Plasma PSBG concentrations at weeks 39-40 in toxemic patients correlated positively with placental weight. No such correlation was found in normal or toxemic pregnancies at 37-38 weeks or in either group between PSBG level and infant birth weight, birth length, or Apgar score. In toxemic pregnancies with low PSBG values during the last trimester, birth weights were somewhat lower than in those with normal levels. Thus, low levels of maternal plasma PSBG may reflect IUGR, but will be of little value for assessment of fetal condition at birth.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1978

Pregnancy-specific beta-1-glycoprotein levels in cholestasis of pregnancy.

Plasma concentrations of pregnancy specific beta-1-glycoprotein (PSBG) were measured by specific radioimmunoassay in 211 samples from 123 normal women during the third trimester of pregnancy and in 166 samples from 68 patients with cholestasis of pregnancy. At 37--38 weeks of gestation patients with cholestasis had significantly lower PSBG levels than the normal pregnant women (P less than 0.005), whereas the levels in patients in the cholestasis had not been significantly different from those for normal pregnant women before 37 weeks. At 37--38 weeks of gestation patients with cholestasis showed a slight correlation between placnetal weight and plasma PSBS levels (r = 0.362; P less than 0.05), whereas this was not found in patients with normal pregnancy. No correlation was found between infant weight or length at birth and the PSBG concentrations in either group, and no difference was noted in PSBG concentrations between cases with and without fetal distress.

Cholestasis↗
PubMed1976

Choriocarcinoma: expression of tumor- and trophoblast-associated antigens in patients with low chorionic gonadotropin excretion.

The circulating levels of four tumor- or trophoblast-associated antigens were measured by specific radioimmunoassays in 11 patients with gestational choriocarcinoma. The estimations were carried out at the time when the urinary gonadotropin (hCG) excretion was low or negligible. Gonadotropin, measured as the hCG beta-subunit, was detected in serum of three patients, one of whom also showed a slightly raised level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). All patients had normal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels and no trace of human placental lactogen could be demonstrated. Repeat estimation after treatment of patients with raised levels showed a disappearance or a marked decrease of the circulating hCG levels and a return to normal of the elevated serum CEA level. The results show that although CEA levels may occasionally be elevated new information can hardly be expected from markers other than hCG when one is monitoring response to treatment, but AFP may have potential significance in the distinction between pregnancy and a trophoblastic disease. The circulating levels of hCG are of vital importance in the monitoring of choriocarcinoma patients who appear to be in remission by the conventional analysis of urinary hCG excretion.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Prolactin and testosterone: independent circulating levels in hyperprolactinemic and normoprolactinemic amenorrhea. The effect of prolactin suppression by bromocriptine.

In order to elucidate the pituitary regulation of the female testosterone secretion, we studied by radioimmunoassay the circulating prolactin (PRL) and testosterone-dihydrotestosterone (T-dT) levels in 12 hyperprolactinemic and 12 normoprolactinemic patients with secondary amenorrhea. After the basal levels had been recorded, each patient was given bromocriptine for two weeks, 2.5 mg twice daily, and repeat estimations of the PRL and T-dT levels were done. We found no significant difference in the basal T-dT levels between normoprolactinemic and hyperprolactinemic patients, and no significant correlation between the PRL and T-dT levels in either group. Although the PRL levels of the hyperprolactinemic patients were greatly suppressed by bromocriptine, the T-dT levels showed no systematic change. In normoprolactinemic patients, the T-dT concentrations were somewhat lower during bromocriptine treatment, but the difference from basal levels was not statistically significant (0.05 less than P less than 0.1). Our results suggest that in patients with secondary amenorrhea PRL does not interfere directly with T-dT secretion, or vice versa.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Bromocriptine increases plasma estradiol-17 beta concentration in amenorrhea patients with normal serum prolactin.

In a series of 23 patients bromocriptine increased the plasma estradiol-17 beta level from 44.0 +/- 9.5 (mean +/- SE) to 144.1 +/- 31.8 pg/ml after 3 - 5 weeks' treatment (p less than 0.01). In normoprolactinemic patients (N = 12) the level increased from 59.6 +/- 16.3 to 186.5 +/- 50.5 pg/ml (p less than 0.05), and in hyperprolactinemic patients (N = 11) the corresponding values were 27.0 +/- 6.2 and 97.8 +/- 34.6 pg/ml (p less than 0.05). Bromocriptine treatment did not significantly alter the FSH and LH levels. The results suggest that bromocriptine treatment induces endocrine recovery also in patients whose clinical findings give no indication of prolactin suppression.

Amenorrhea↗