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Biomedical subjects

V C Buttram

Publications and source records attributed to V C Buttram.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Nafarelin therapy in endometriosis: long-term effects on bone mineral density.

OBJECTIVE: The study intent was to examine long-term effects on bone mass of 3 or 6 months of nafarelin therapy for endometriosis. STUDY DESIGN: Women with established endometriosis (N = 173) were randomized to receive nafarelin (200 micrograms intranasally twice a day) for either 3 or 6 months in a double-blind fashion. Bone mineral density was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry at lumbar spine and proximal femoral sites for 18 months. RESULTS: Bone mineral density declined at spinal and femoral sites similarly in both 3- and 6-month treatment groups. There was a partial, but incomplete, return to baseline levels after 12 to 15 months of follow-up. The recovery of bone mass was more complete in subjects with higher dietary calcium intakes. CONCLUSION: Nafarelin therapy for endometriosis results in a sustained loss of spinal and femoral bone density, particularly in women with lower calcium intakes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Tubal pregnancy with normal hysterosalpingogram and negative serum pregnancy test.

A patient undergoing evaluation for primary infertility with regular menses had a normal hysterosalpingogram in the follicular phase and underwent diagnostic laparoscopy the next day, with the finding of a tubal pregnancy. The patient had a negative serum pregnancy test. Although a normal hysterosalpingogram and negative serum pregnancy test are each rare with a tubal pregnancy, the combination of the two occurring in a tubal pregnancy is previously unreported and did not exclude the diagnosis in this case.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Use of danazol in conservative surgery.

Any type of injury, inflammation or noninfectious condition can cause an adhesion. Among noninfectious conditions that cause adhesions, endometriosis is the most common. a six-month preoperative regimen of Danocrine (danazol) resulted in a reduction in pelvic vascularity and inflammation, theoretically reducing the risk of postoperative adhesions. The preoperative use of danazol also makes laparoscopic surgery possible for more patients.

Combined Modality Therapy↗
PubMed1989

Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator reduces adhesion formation in a rabbit uterine horn model.

To evaluate the potential benefit of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) as an agent for reducing postoperative adhesions, a rabbit uterine horn model was studied. Fifty-five rabbits underwent laparotomy, at which time the uterus was abraded with scalpel and a thermal injury was induced with electrocautery. Before abdominal closure, rt-PA was applied topically in various dosages. Adhesions were evaluated at a second laparotomy performed 2 weeks later. Treatment significantly reduced both adhesion quantity (P less than 0.001) and adhesion density (P less than 0.001). In the second phase of the study, the efficacy of rt-PA as an adjunct to surgical adhesiolysis was investigated. Again, a dose-related treatment effect was observed (P less than 0.001). No wound healing or bleeding complications were seen.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Classification of endometriosis.

The classification of endometriosis has evolved during this century under the influence of many factors. Although classifications initially paralleled the staging of pelvic malignancies, more modern systems follow the natural progression of this pathologic process. The diagnosis of endometriosis at earlier stages has been limited by the technology of the era. Previously, only patients with more severe disease or symptoms were evaluated and treated. Earlier therapies were more radical and centered on pain relief achieved with removal of the internal genitalia. The objectives of classification were to provide standardized documentation of the disease and--it was hoped--define those patients amenable to less radical therapy. As our diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities grew, so did our interest in infertile women with endometriosis and the treatment of such patients. The diagnosis of endometriosis was often made at an earlier stage of involvement, and therapy stressed repair rather than removal. Description of pelvic involvement, has become more detailed and accurate, and the stage of disease has become prognostic of future fertility. The basic tenet of the R-AFS classification system is to provide an objective and universal method for describing the severity of disease visualized at laparotomy or laparoscopy. Stage of disease will aid the physician in choosing the therapy most suited for the individual patient. If reparative surgery is undertaken, the stage of disease will reflect the extent of pelvic reconstruction required. Quantifying disease severity will, it is hoped, make it predictive of success in conception and prognostic of the need for future medical or surgical treatment. It will also serve to stratify patients with a similar degree and distribution of disease into somewhat homogeneous groups. This will permit reasonable comparisons of effectiveness of different therapies and investigators' methods. Refinement of this type of classification scheme will depend on critical analysis of the system's prognostic capabilities. Further studies will help elucidate the relative importance of individual variables on the potential for success in achieving pregnancy.

Endometriosis↗
PubMed1988

Administration of nasal nafarelin as compared with oral danazol for endometriosis. A multicenter double-blind comparative clinical trial.

Treatment with nafarelin, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, reversibly inhibits ovarian function and induces hypoestrogenemia. To determine the efficacy of such hormonal manipulation in the treatment of endometriosis, we randomly assigned 213 patients with laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis to receive, for six months, either nafarelin by nasal spray (400 or 800 micrograms per day) or oral danazol (800 mg per day). Placebo nasal spray and placebo tablets were used to double blind the study. Pretreatment and post-treatment laparoscopies were compared by means of the American Fertility Society's scoring system. More than 80 percent of the patients in each treatment group had a reduction in the extent of disease as assessed by laparoscopy. The mean laparoscopic scores decreased from 21.9 to 12.6 with 800 micrograms of nafarelin, from 20.4 to 11.7 with 400 micrograms of nafarelin, and from 18.4 to 10.5 with danazol (P = 0.0001 within each group; there were no statistically significant differences between the groups). The percentage of women with severely painful symptoms of endometriosis decreased from about 40 percent to 5 to 10 percent, whereas the percentage with no or minimal discomfort rose from 25 to 70 percent. Of the 149 patients who tried to become pregnant, 58 (39 percent) succeeded after the completion of treatment; similar rates of pregnancy applied to the three treatment groups. Danazol use decreased high-density lipoprotein levels and increased low-density lipoprotein levels. These changes were not observed in nafarelin users, but a higher percentage of them reported hot flashes and decreased libido. We conclude that nafarelin is an effective agent for treating endometriosis and has few side effects other than hypoestrogenism.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1988

Linear regression analysis of ultrasound follicular growth series: evidence for an abnormality of follicular growth in endometriosis patients.

Follicular diameter growth is a highly linear function of time. Recently, the potential utility of linear regression-derived parameters for describing and comparing cycles of follicular growth was described. The linearity of growth, growth rate constant (K), calculated date of growth onset (Do), total growth period (TGP), menstrual age at apparent ovulation (MAov), and peak follicular diameter (PFD) have been calculated from the follicular growth series of a group of patients with laparoscopically diagnosed endometriosis (n = 46). These parameters were compared with those of a group of normal volunteers (n = 18). The authors found significant differences between endometriosis patients and controls in follicular growth rate and total growth period. The effect of patients' clomiphene citrate usage on growth parameters in these patients was examined. Abnormalities in interrelationships between the growth parameters were detected, suggesting the possibility of subtle defects in the regulation of follicular growth in these patients.

Endometriosis↗
PubMed1986

Serum and peritoneal fluid proteins in women with and without endometriosis.

We examined the proteins in serum and peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis (and of healthy controls) for evidence of an autoimmune response that might account for their impaired fertility. No antibodies against endometrial glycoproteins or against "progestin dependent endometrial protein" (PEP) were found in any serum or peritoneal fluid sample. Levels of PEP were not different in serum from women with moderate to severe endometriosis (n = 6), with mild endometriosis (n = 21), or from disease-free cycling controls (n = 19). PEP levels in peritoneal fluid from mild endometriosis and from controls did not differ but were elevated ten times in fluid obtained in the secretory phase from women with moderate to severe disease. This suggests that PEP levels in peritoneal fluid reflect the extent of ectopic endometrial growth. The salient finding was a heretofore undescribed protein (mol wt 70,000) in secretory phase peritoneal fluid samples (18/20) and its absence during the proliferative phase (0/35).

Ascitic Fluid↗
PubMed1985

Treatment of endometriosis with danazol: report of a 6-year prospective study.

Presented are the results of a 6-year prospective study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of danazol for the treatment of endometriosis. Ninety-six patients completed 6 months of therapy at a dosage of 800 mg daily, and 107 patients completed therapy with 400 mg daily. No difference was reported in the incidence of side effects, regardless of dosage. Gross resolution of disease (as determined by second-look laparotomy or laparoscopy) was evaluated in 110 patients and found to be similar, regardless of dosage. Ovarian endometriosis greater than 1 cm was observed to respond significantly less well to danazol than peritoneal or ovarian disease less than 1 cm. Pregnancy rates for 157 patients with no other discernible causes of infertility were slightly higher for the 800-mg danazol regimen than for the 400-mg regimen. In patients with mild disease, the use of danazol alone resulted in pregnancy rates lower than those achieved with conservative surgery alone. Its use preoperatively for all stages of disease resulted in slightly higher pregnancy rates than when conservative surgery alone was employed. Danazol was less effective when used postoperatively. No differences were observed between three classification schemes in their ability to predict subsequent prognosis for conception.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Peritoneal fluid plasminogen activator activity in endometriosis and pelvic adhesive disease.

Plasminogen activator activity in PF was assayed by the fibrinolysis method described by Strickland and Beers. In 45 patients studied, there were no discernible differences according to whether patients had endometriosis and/or pelvic adhesive disease. No differences were detected according to when in the menstrual cycle the sample of PF was obtained. These data are in concordance with a previous report and taken together suggest that there is no difference in fibrinolytic mechanisms in PF in patients with or without endometriosis and/or pelvic adhesive disease, when compared with control subjects. If such differences exist, they may be present in the tissues, per se, but are not discernible in PF.

Ascitic Fluid↗
PubMed1984

Transplantation of normal and ectopic human endometrial tissue into athymic nude mice.

Implants or tiny circumscribed nodules of endometrial tissue were found in all female mice given intraperitoneal injections of fragments of human normal (proliferative and secretory) or ectopic (endometrioma) endometrium. Half of these animals received estrogen supplementation and the other half received none. The endometriosis tissue present in these animals at 28 or 56 days after inoculation consisted of glands and stroma with an infiltration of hemosiderin-laden macrophages. Glands in tissue transplants of animals given supplemental estrogen tended to be larger, and the secretory endometrium tended to revert to a proliferative pattern. Palpable nodules at the site of subcutaneous inoculations of proliferative endometrium became undetectable grossly and microscopically within 24 to 32 days, whereas endometrioma tissue remained detectable for up to 70 days and resembled the intraperitoneal tissue microscopically. This study demonstrates that human endometrial tissue can be successfully transplanted into the nude mouse and will retain its basic morphology.

Animals↗