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Biomedical subjects

P Koninckx

Publications and source records attributed to P Koninckx.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Is routine diagnostic laparoscopy for infertility still justified? A pilot study assessing the use of hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography and magnetic resonance imaging.

We assessed the value of hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography (HyCoSy) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as alternatives to laparoscopy and dye insufflation with or without hysteroscopy in the investigation of infertility. A total of 19 women had all three procedures, in addition, one became pregnant after HyCoSy alone. The findings were: uterine fibroids (n = 5), minimal-mild endometriosis (n = 4) and moderate-severe endometriosis (n = 3) including one case of bilateral endometriomas, endometrial polyp (n = 1), polycystic ovaries (n = 2), bilateral dermoid cysts (n = 1), haemorrhagic corpus luteal cyst (n = 1) and minimal adhesions (n = 3). At laparoscopy, 31/37 tubes were patent and there was 84% concordance with the tubal patency findings at HyCoSy. The uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts were detected using transvaginal scanning; the endometrial polyp and a congenital uterine anomaly were identified using HyCoSy. These findings were detected using MRI, but in addition the technique distinguished the dermoid cysts from the endometriomas, identified the two other cases of moderate-severe endometriosis, fibroids <2 cm (n = 2) and adenomyosis (n = 5), and interpreted the haemorrhagic corpus luteum as an endometrioma. Our data suggest that women with normal HyCoSy and MRI findings have a normal pelvis and may not need routine surgical investigation.

Adult↗

Long-term bone mass evaluation of mandible and lumbar spine in a group of women receiving hormone replacement therapy.

The overall aim of this study was to examine the relationship between bone mass of the jaw and the axial skeleton. Sixty-nine subjects (age at entry: 32-64), who underwent hormone replacement therapy during the study period, participated. Bone mass of the lumbar spine was determined using dual photon absorptiometry. The jaw-bone of the posterior region of the mandible was evaluated by means of standardized long-cone radiography using individual bite-blocks. A densitometric wedge in the film holder provided a reference to quantify bone mass. From both measurements, it appeared that the bone mass of the mandible and the lumbar spine showed a moderate relationship. The present results also confirmed that estrogen replacement therapy had a positive effect on the bone mass of the mandible and the lumbar spine. Different estrogen regimens resulted in different increases in bone mass during the observation period, which was on average 5 yr.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

The ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in in-vitro fertilization: a Belgian multicentric study. I. Clinical and biological features.

The multicentric study regroups 128 cases of the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and 256 selected controls. Values of serum oestradiol obtained from different laboratories were found to be normally distributed after logarithmic transformation. Comparative study of clinical and biological characteristics indicates that among OHSS patients (i) mean age was lower; (ii) tubal indications for IVF were less frequent; (iii) polycystic ovary-like conditions (i.e. hyperandrogenism, anovulation, luteinizing hormone/follicle stimulating hormone ratio > 2) were more frequent. OHSS patients displayed ovarian hypersensitivity reflected by higher oestradiol peak concentrations in response to lower dosage of human menopausal gonadotrophin and by a steeper slope of oestradiol increment during stimulation. In these patients, the collection of greater numbers of fertilizable oocytes allowed replacement of more embryos with a good vitality score. Ongoing pregnancy rate was found to be higher among the OHSS patients. The following complications were recorded among OHSS cases: abdominal fluid at echographic examination or clinical ascites (86.7 and 71.1%, respectively); pleural and pericardial effusion (21 and 3%, respectively); haemoconcentration (71.1%); electrolytic disorders (6.2%). Although significantly different between groups, clinical and biological parameters under study showed considerable overlap of their distributions in control and OHSS cases. Therefore, these data must be submitted to discriminant analysis in order to derive a formula predictive of the risk of OHSS.

Adult↗

The effect of training in microsurgery.

One of the most important and fundamental prerequisites for successful microsurgery is serious and adequate training. This article presents the effect of microsurgical training on the functional end result of reanastomosis in the rabbit fallopian tube and evaluates the appropriate duration of laboratory training. In 50 New Zealand White female rabbits a microsurgical reanastomosis of the fallopian tube in its isthmic portion was performed. The rabbits were divided into five groups. In the first group only 30% of the rabbits conceived on the side operated on. The nidation index was only 0.269 as compared to 0.831 for the control side. Improvement in microsurgical skill following 100 isthmic anastomoses resulted in a 100% pregnancy rate for the last group. The nidation indexes in this group were the same on the side operated on and on the control side, 0.774 and 0.702, respectively. Scanning electron microscopic examination of the anastomosis site revealed a progressive increase in patency rate and in the amount of apposed mucosal folds in the three groups. A training program is recommended, which should bring about a nidation index and pregnancy rate that should not differ from the side operated on to the control side.

Animals↗

Erythrocyte concentrations and transmembrane fluxes of sodium and potassium and biochemical measurements during the menstrual cycle in normal women.

The erythrocyte concentrations and the transmembrane fluxes of sodium and potassium were investigated in 20 normal women during the two stages of the menstrual cycle. Half of the women were using oral contraceptives and the other half were not. In women with a normal menstrual cycle the erythrocyte sodium concentration and the ouabain-insensitive total potassium efflux were lower in the luteal than in the follicular phase. Intracellular potassium concentration, ouabain-sensitive rubidium 86 uptake and the furosemide-sensitive sodium and potassium efflux did not differ significantly between the two periods of the cycle. No cycle-related variation in sodium or potassium intracellular concentration was observed in women using oral contraceptives. In these women, however, the ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake was increased in the second part of the menstrual cycle. In each woman with a normal menstrual cycle the plasma progesterone, renin activity, angiotensin II, plasma aldosterone concentration, and urinary aldosterone excretion increased during the luteal phase. The increment in the plasma renin activity, plasma angiotensin II, and plasma and urinary aldosterone indicate a stimulation of the renin-aldosterone axis in this menstrual period. During the same phase, serum cholesterol was decreased significantly. When the women using oral contraceptives were compared to those not using them, the renin-aldosterone axis was already stimulated during the first part of the cycle; no further stimulation occurred during the second part.

Adult↗

Androgen and progestogen production in cultured interstitial cells derived from immature rat testis.

Interstitial cells derived from intact immature rats were cultured as monolayers. Their response to gonadotropins was evaluated by radioimmunoassay of 3',5'-cyclic AMP and steroids in the medium. Steroids were measured either directly (testosterone and progesterone) or after previous oxidation and thin layer chromatographic purification of the steroid extracts (4-androstene-3,17-dione, 5 alpha-androstane-3,17-dione, progesterone, 5 alpha-pregnane-3,20-dione). It could be demonstrated that these cells respond to gonadotropins with increased secretion of C19- and C21-steroids for at least 10 days. The total amount of steroids secreted in the medium, however, decreases markedly. During the first days of culture C19-steroid production falls dramatically whereas the secretion of C21 derivatives increases. A major fraction of the extracted steroids has undergone 5 alpha-reduction. A characteristic feature of cultured interstitial cells is the bell-shaped profile of the dose-response curve for gonadotropin stimulated androgen production. This profile is the result of a steroidogenic lesion situated at the level of the 17 alpha-hydroxylase and/or 17,20-desmolase and induced by high concentrations of gonadotropins. Daily changes with medium supplemented with LH or FSH, initiated on day 3 of culture, prevent a further loss of steroidogenic potential, restore the ability to produce C19-derivatives, and tend to normalize the dose-response curve for gonadotropin stimulated production of androgens.

Androgens↗

Endometriosis.

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Endometriosis↗

[Modification of prolactin and stress by masturbation].

Fertility patients are in a stressful situation at the time of clinical examination. That condition of stress influences hormonal levels, especially prolactin levels, in blood plasma and in seminal plasma. After masturbation previously stress-induced hyperprolactinemia levels are reduced. This is probably due to the decrease of stressful tension during the period of clinical consultation and not likely due to the relaxation by masturbation. In conclusion, the stress condition of fertility patients must be taken into account while evaluating hormonal data.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone↗

Secretion rates of LH and FSH during infusion of LH-FSH/RH in normal women and in patients with secondary amenorrhea: suggestive evidence for two pools of LH and FSH.

Normal women in the early follicular phase and in the luteal phase of the cycle, and patients with secondary amenorrhea received on consecutive days a rapid intravenous injection (50 mug) and a two or four-hour infusion (25 mug/h) of synthetic LH-FSH/RH. The responses of LH and FSH were evaluated by the measured plasma concentrations, as well as by the calculated pituitary secretion rates and by the amounts of hormone released. To estimate these pituitary secretion rates of LH and FSH, a simplified mathematical model is proposed. During an infusion of LH-FSH/RH the secretion rates of both LH and FSH increased in the three groups of women in a biphasic way with a dip after 1 to 2h of infusion, suggesting that besides the pool mobilized by a rapid intravenous injection of LH-FSH/RH there is a second pool of (stored) gonadotropins. For LH the increase above baseline concentrations was higher in group II (luteal phase) than in group I (follicular phase) or in group III (amenorrhea) and this both after a bolus injection and during infusion of LH-FSH/RH. For FSH a similar pattern of response prevailed during an infusion of LH-FSH/RH. After a bolus administration, however, the FSH release was relatively higher in group III (amenorrhea) than in both groups of normal women in which the increases were about the same. The latter finding suggests that the first pool of FSH is released by a different mechanism than the second pool.

Adult↗

Second antibody chemically linked to cellulose for the separation of bound and free hormone: an improvement over soluble second antibody in gonadotrophin radioimmunoassay.

Coupling the second antibody to a solid pase (DASP) was found to be a definite improvement over the classical technique of soluble second antibody (DA) separation of bound and free hormone in the radioimmunoassays of gonadotrophins in plasma or in serum. The duration (2.5 to 7.5 min) and the pH (10.5 to 12.5) of the cyanogen bromide activation of microcristalline cellulose did not affect the coupling capacity or the immunoreactivity of the second antibody, nor did it augment aspecific adsorption of free gonadotrophin on the cellulose matrix. Precision of duplicates was comparable for both methods but the accuracy and the detection limit of the solid phase system were higher due to a better separation of bound and free hormone, to the lower blank value and to the absence of aspecific interference of protein concentration. Cost was lower since much less second antibody was needed in the solid phase system than in the soluble system and since the experimental procedures were simplified by the absence of prozoning effect and the solid nature of the cellulose matrix.

Animals↗