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Biomedical subjects

W B Cutler

Publications and source records attributed to W B Cutler.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Pheromones, sexual attractiveness and quality of life in menopausal women.

Pheromones, and their effects, are reviewed with a special emphasis on their potential contribution to sexual attractiveness in the menopause. Key topics included are biological functions of pheromones in animals and humans, the source of pheromones in humans, the axillary extract studies that led to the independent synthesis of pheromones, olfactory mechanisms for mediating pheromones, and aging, attractiveness and sexual dysfunction. Physical attractiveness is important for a better quality of life. Three separate, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigations, using the same protocol, all demonstrated that a synthesized pheromone, topically applied, increased sexual attractiveness. If partners are available, sexual attractiveness can increase affectionate intimate behavior, which, in turn, increases well-being and quality of life. More research is needed to address ways in which postmenopausal women can benefit from pheromones.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed1998

Wellness in women after 40 years of age: the role of sex hormones and pheromones.

In the past twenty years hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have provided a significant body of information to guide the health care of women in the second halves of their lives. The harmonic nature of the fertile reproductive system forms the background against which hormonal replacement therapy can be understood to best serve women. In addition, the 1986 discovery of human pheromones and the subsequent 1998 confirmation of their existence increases certain sexual options for maturing women. Not all hormonal replacement therapies and wellness regimens serve women well. Some regimens have the potential to produce disease, especially over-the-counter remedies like dehydroepiandrosterone and the formulas that contain estrogen. Some regimens profoundly improve the quality of life of many women; some women do not need or want such regimens. All sex hormones affect physiologic systems including the cardiovascular system, bone metabolism, cognitive function, sexual response, and sexual attractiveness. The 7 years before menopause have recently been revealed to be an extremely complex era. During this period, some women increase their estrogen levels to new lifetime highs; others start an unequivocal decline, and still others vary from month to month. Coupled to this variability in estrogen is an equally variable set of changes in progesterone secretion by the ovary as androgen secretion patterns also change. Many women show increases in circulating androgens while many others show deficiencies. Both the adrenal and the ovarian sources of these hormones show age-related changes that alter a woman's capacity to attract sexual attention through both her physical appearance (and condition) and her pheromonal excretions. The complex contributions to the overall health of a woman may not always be understood. Often a hysterectomy can exacerbate--rather than ameliorate--the conditions that led to the surgery. One in 2 American women is offered a hysterectomy, a rate 5 times higher than that of the European countries for which data are available. Ninety percent of hysterectomies are not related to cancer; they are elective procedures. Avoidance of elective hysterectomy helps prevent its side effects: sexual deficits, acceleration of cardiovascular and bone disease, and more rapid aging. No efficacy data exist that suggest that elective hysterectomy works better than the alternative approaches that do not induce these side effects. The health and well-being of women who have already had hysterectomies, with or without ovariectomies, can be improved by a recognition of the cascade of difficulties that must addressed. Estrogen, progesterone, and androgens all tend to be compromised by hysterectomy; all should be considered for replacement. Because hormonal regimens can be prescribed to enhance the quality of life, the review of the available research can allow the medical art to greatly benefit mature women. Not surprisingly, the emerging conclusion reveals that structurally human hormones, prescribed appropriately, almost always best serve the patient.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Pheromonal influences on sociosexual behavior in men.

This study tested whether synthesized human male pheromones increase the sociosexual behavior of men. Thirty-eight heterosexual men, ages 26-42, completed a 2-week baseline period and 6-week placebo-controlled, double-blind trial testing a pheromone "designed to improve the romance in their lives." Each subject kept daily behavioral records for 6 sociosexual behaviors: petting/affection/kissing, formal dates, informal dates, sleeping next to a romantic partner, sexual intercourse, and self-stimulation to ejaculation (masturbation) and FAXed them each week. Significantly more pheromone than placebo users increased above baseline in sexual intercourse and sleeping with a romantic partner. There was a tendency for more pheromone than placebo users to increase above baseline in petting/affection/kissing, and informal dates, but not in self-stimulation to ejaculation or in formal dates. A significantly larger proportion of pheromone than placebo users increased in > or = 2 and > or = 3 of the 5 sociosexual behaviors involving a female partner. Thus, there was a significant increase in male sociosexual behaviors in which a woman's sexual interest and cooperation plays a role but not in male masturbation which involves only the man. These initial data need replication but suggest that human male pheromones affected the sexual attractiveness of men to women.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

Coitus and menstruation in perimenopausal women.

The objective of the study was to determine whether coitus during menstruation in perimenopausal women is associated with increased menstrual flow defined as either heavier flow, more days of flow, or both. Initial interviews for the Stanford Menopause Study were conducted locally with 160 perimenopausal women. Six weeks later, additional data were gathered from 121 women. At a third interview, 6-10 weeks later at Stanford University, 56 of 57 subjects (mean age 48.8 +/- 3.9 SD) provided data on menstrual flow and coital behavior. At both the first and third interview, more than half of the women reported a pattern of increased menstrual flow. At the third interview, 83% of those reporting increased menstrual flow also reported a behavioral pattern of coitus during menses. Only 10% with diminished flow acknowledged such a pattern. Women who abstained from sex during menses were not less regular in coital activity at other times nor did the data reveal them to be less orgasmic than women who did not abstain. Our data reveal an association between coitus during menstruation and longer and/or heavier menstrual flow. The etiology of such increased flow is usually believed to be hormonal, but coitus during menstruation may be another important variable.

Coitus↗
PubMed1993

Prevalence of kyphosis in a healthy sample of pre- and postmenopausal women.

Kyphosis, initially modest, progresses to the well recognized dowager's hump of the postmenopausal osteoporotic woman. Kyphosis is not only associated with relatively altered vertebral body shape (anterior wedging), but also with reduced bone density and fitness, as well as decreased muscle strength, and is associated with reduced survival. We found an unexpectedly high (35%) incidence of kyphosis in a healthy sample of well women 20 to 64 years of age. The correlation between normal postural index of kyphosis (I/K) and upright postural I/K was substantial (r = 0.799). Among the postmenopausal women, normal postural I/K was inversely correlated with age. Upright postural kyphosis was not related to age, nor was normal postural I/K in the premenopausal woman. There was no direct relationship demonstrated between current calcium consumption and I/K. Similarly, neither estrogen levels nor follicle-stimulating hormone levels were related to current posture. Women with satisfactory exercise habits had significantly lower I/K. Because the capacity to stand up straight was consistently higher than the normal postural score, yet closely correlated to it, there may be a role for postural kyphosis in changing the architecture of the vertebral column. As normal posture becomes kyphotic, an individual can no longer straighten the vertebral column. The surveyor's flexicurve, which we employed for this study, provided a simple and inexpensive method for assessing postural index. This measurement can be routinely included in the comprehensive health examination. Assessment of bone health in women should be made within the context of a fixed postural kyphosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Single photon absorptiometry imaging as a screening method for diminished dual photon density measures.

Scanning of the new 5-mm distal-radius site and the mid-radius (33% site) was performed using single photon absorptiometry (SPA) and of the L2-L4 region of the spine using dual photon absorptiometry (DPA) in a group of healthy women (age range 36-66 yr) in order to develop parameters to enable SPA to be used to screen for low DPA measures. The study data were analyzed as follows: 1. Women were classified as either 'intact' or 'post pelvic surgery' and the data for the two groups were separated. 2. Each SPA measurement was scrutinized and the one which produced the lowest score (% young normal [YN]) was entered for data analysis and graphing. The application of these two analytical discriminators represents a new approach in the biomedical literature. The findings were as follows: 1. When women were separated according to whether they were intact or had undergone pelvic surgery, the threshold value for screening using radius measures among intact women was set at 80% YN. 2. The necessary threshold value for the pelvic-surgery group needed to be set higher, at 93% YN. 3. If either the distal density or the mid-shaft density was below its threshold level, DPA was indicated. 4. At these threshold levels, no women with diminished spinal density (less than 83% YN) were omitted from screening procedure. We conclude that by refining our evaluation of each healthy woman according to her pelvic physiology status (intact or post-surgery) and considering whether either of the two SPA measures is below the threshold value, we will be able to screen for diminished DPA density and thereby eliminate a significant number of expensive but uninformative DPA readings.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Perimenopausal sexuality.

This report covers the results of an interview survey concerning sexual responses of 124 women during the perimenopause (menopause transition), and the results of 52 women's prospective coital behavior records over 3 months with concomitant steroid analysis. Results indicated that in general, the age group centering around 49 years appears not to be suffering from a particular sexual deficit in the dimensions of desire, response, or satisfaction in their sexual life, and a subset of women with especially low estradiol levels (less than 35 mg/pl) tends to have reduced coital activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Human axillary secretions influence women's menstrual cycles: the role of donor extract from men.

Menstrual cycle lengths of 29.5 +/- 3 days ("normal cycles") are more frequent in women who have weekly coital activity than in women who do not. In order to investigate potential mechanisms controlling the association between heterosexual activity and menstrual cycle length, and in light of the nonhuman literature suggesting that a chemical signal from males could be involved, menstrual cycle lengths of nulliparous women were evaluated following regular application of axillary extract from donor males. Compared to controls receiving only blank/ethanol applications, women receiving axillary extracts for 12.5 to 14.5 weeks showed the following changes: a reduced incidence in variability of cycle lengths; and a reduced proportion of aberrant length cycles.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Human axillary secretions influence women's menstrual cycles: the role of donor extract of females.

Menstrual synchrony in human females has previously been demonstrated among women attending a predominantly female university as well as among women attending coeducational universities. In each of these studies, women who spent the most time together were most likely to show the menstrual synchrony. In this experiment, the possibility that substances in axillary secretions might mediate this effect was tested using a prospective, double-blind research design and a combined axillary extract from a group of female donors. Female subjects who reported themselves to have normal (29.5 +/- 3 day) cycles were exposed to the axillary extracts or blank/ethanol for 10 to 13 weeks. Recipients of the axillary extracts showed a significant reduction in "days' difference in menses onset" relative to the donor cycle, no change was evident for recipients of blank/ethanol. These results demonstrate that constituents from the axillary region of donor females can shift the time of menstrual onset of another group to conform with the donors' cycle and that this effect can occur even in the absence of social contact.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Sexual behavior and steroid levels among gynecologically mature premenopausal women.

Twenty-seven gynecologically mature young women who participated in a 14-week study prospectively recorded daily sexual behavior and basal body temperature data. In addition, they supplied plasma three times during the last cycle of participation. Plasma was analyzed for estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), and progesterone (P) by radioimmunoassay. The levels of circulating sex steroid hormones during the luteal phase were examined in relation to measures of menstrual cycle length, sexual frequency, and coital total. The results indicated the following: (1) women who had weekly sex with men had higher levels of estrogen than women who did not; (2) total amount of coital behavior was not related to any of the hormones assayed; (3) neither T nor P were distinguished by the consistency of sexual behavior or by coital total; and (4) women with aberrant-length cycles tended to have lower levels of E2. Thus, E2 consistently showed relationships to sexual behavior and cycle length, whereas P and T did not.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Sexual behavior frequency and biphasic ovulatory type menstrual cycles.

College students whose menarche had occurred 7 years previously, prospectively recorded menstrual and sexual behavior history for 14 weeks as well as basal body temperatures. Regular weekly coital activity associates with the highest incidence of fertile type cycles in this sample of young women as follows: (1) Regular weekly heterosexual behavior was associated with 29.5 +/- 3 day menstrual cycle length. Less frequent sexual activity (sporadic) and celibacy were associated with an increased frequency of aberrantly short and long cycle lengths. (2) Either of two heterosexual behaviors (coitus and/or genital stimulation by a man) were behaviors which were adequate as associates of 29.5 +/- 3 day cycles. (3) Self-stimulation (masturbation to orgasm) was inadequate as an associate of the above-described pattern of menstrual cyclicity. (4) Women with regular weekly coital activity had the highest incidence (90%) of fertile type basal body temperature (BBT) rhythms. Sporadically active women had the next highest incidence (55%) of fertile type BBT rhythms. Celibate women had the lowest incidence (44%) of fertile type BBT's.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Preservation of the ovary: a reevaluation.

The incidence of routine ovariectomy approximates 20% to 30% of all women at hysterectomy. The propriety of this practice is evaluated from three perspectives: the review of the longevity of ovarian hormonal function throughout life, the review of the low risk of subsequent disease in the retained ovary, and the review of epidemiologic considerations. Because oophorectomy and the loss of its steroid contribution has such a profound influence on many body functions, with the most devastating relation to osteoporosis, and because there are no meaningful data in the literature to support the value of routine oophorectomy, removal of ovaries should only be performed when the ovaries are diseased.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Lunar and menstrual phase locking.

In a selected population of 312 women, prospective menses records were maintained during the autumn of 1977. Women whose menstrual cycle duration approaches the cycle duration of the earth's moon (29.5 days) tend to ovulate in the dark phase of the lunar period. The dark phase encompasses the half-cycle of the month from last quarter, through new moon, to first quarter. Women showing irregular menses also tended to ovulate during the dark phase of the lunar period.

Adult↗