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R G Kennedy

Publications and source records attributed to R G Kennedy.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Sexual interest in postmenopausal women is related to 5alpha-reductase activity.

Many studies to date have suggested a role for testosterone in women's interest in sex after the menopause. However, this does not appear to be related to serum concentrations of testosterone. Testosterone is converted to the more active dihydrotestosterone by an enzyme, 5alpha-reductase, found in target tissues. The activity of this enzyme has been shown to be variable, being more active in women with hirsutism and men with benign prostatic hypertrophy than in normal controls. We have shown that women complaining of a loss of interest in sex after the menopause have higher amounts of 5alpha-reductase activity, as reflected by urinary ratios of the 5alpha-product (androsterone) to the 5beta-product (aetiocholanolone) of androstenedione, than women with no loss of interest in sex after the menopause. However, of those women who noted a loss of interest in sex after the menopause, the women who responded to oestrogen replacement had higher amounts of 5alpha-reductase activity than those whose interest in sex did not improve with oestrogen replacement. The urinary aetiocholanolone:androsterone ratio may be predictive of which women will experience a loss of interest in sex following the menopause (natural or induced) and which of these women will respond to oestrogen replacement.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Significance of terminal rinse for rat liver preservation.

A terminal rinse (TR) is standard practice in liver preservation with University of Wisconsin solution (UW) to avoid a potassium load. The fact that sodium lactobionate sucrose solution (SLS) is an effective organ preservation solution with a low potassium provided an opportunity to evaluate rat liver preservation without the TR step. Its importance was investigated in 122 rat liver preservation experiments. In study 1, UW and a hydroxyethyl starch-free, modified UW (UWm) were used for 20-hr liver preservation followed by either no TR or Ringer's lactate TR. The 1-week survival was: UW-TR, 2/14; UW-no TR, 1/6; UWm-TR, 0/6; UWm-no TR, 5/5 (P < 0.01). In study 2, livers were stored for 30 hr in SLS, UW, UWm, and UWm + chlorpromazine 5 mg/L, all without a TR. Nine of 11 rats survived 7 days after SLS, but there were no survivors in the other groups (P < 0.05). Study 3 compared no TR with TR with SLS, Ringer's lactate (RL), or a modified Carolina rinse (CRm) after 30-hr SLS preservation. Survival, serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, and histology were assessed. One-week survival of 9/11 rats in no TR was significantly better than in the other groups (3/14 in TR-SLS, 0/8 in TR-RL, and 0/14 in TR-CRm, P < 0.01). The values of aspartate aminotransferase (mean +/- SE) 3 hr after transplantation were 1862 +/- 439 U/L, 3334 +/- 817 U/L, 6591 +/- 1944 U/L, and 7028 +/- 1704 U/L, respectively, in no TR, TR-SLS, TR-RL, and TR-CRm. There were significant differences both in aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase between no-TR and each of TR-RL and TR-CRm (P < 0.05). Liver specimens from rats killed 3 hr after OLT showed only mild injury in the no TR group and severe injury in the remaining groups. We conclude that a terminal rinse is harmful in rat liver preservation.

Adenosine↗
PubMed1991

Bilateral oophorectomy and hysterectomy in the treatment of intractable pelvic pain associated with pelvic congestion.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether bilateral oophorectomy combined with hysterectomy is an effective treatment for chronic pelvic pain due to congestion. DESIGN: Prospective non-randomized single centre study. SETTING: Tertiary referral centre to a specialist pelvic pain clinic in a teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: 36 women, 33 of whom had failed to obtain long term relief of pain on medical therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Relief of pain, coital frequency, and effect on daily life. Histology of uterus and ovaries. RESULTS: Median pain score on visual analogue scale fell from a pre-operative value of 10 to 0 at one year. Twelve of the 36 women had some residual pain at one year postoperatively, but in only one woman was the pain affecting her daily life. Thirty women were noted to have pelvic tenderness pre-operatively, at one year, 26 had no tenderness and four minimal tenderness on pelvic examination. The median frequency of sexual intercourse increased from once per month preoperatively to eight times per month one year postoperatively. The uterus was histologically normal in 25 women, adenomyosis was present in eight of whom two had ovarian endometriosis. Fibroids were present in three and endometriosis was found confined to the ovaries in one woman. Multiple peripheral cysts were present in the ovaries of 25 women. CONCLUSION: Bilateral oophorectomy combined with hysterectomy and hormone replacement therapy is an effective treatment for chronic pelvic pain due to venous congestion, which has failed to respond to medical treatment and leads to restoration of normal coital function and daily life.

Activities of Daily Living↗