Transport in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection: results of a collaborative trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the use of a central assisted reproduction laboratory, with gamete transport to the facility (transport assisted reproduction), would decrease oocyte quality or performance in IVF-ET and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). DESIGN: Retrospective clinical study. SETTING: Public and private fertility clinics. PATIENT(S): A total of 467 couples underwent transport IVF, whereas 108 underwent transport ICSI. A group of 60 couples underwent conventional IVF during the same period. All methods and protocols used were similar among centers. Oocyte pick-up was performed by ultrasound-guided vaginal puncture. INTERVENTION(S): Oocytes were transported under controlled conditions, from the site of follicular aspiration to a central laboratory. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The fertilization and cleavage rates and clinical pregnancies were compared among the study populations. RESULT(S): The differences between the fertilization and cleavage rates of ova and the rates of clinical pregnancies produced by transport and conventional methods were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION(S): Gamete transport to a central laboratory was not harmful for oocytes or for the outcome of assisted reproduction. Transport makes the use of IVF and ICSI available to physicians who are not affiliated with an assisted reproduction program, reduces costs, and increases acceptability of the procedures to patients.

Use of a new transdermal delivery system for estrogen replacement therapy in postmenopausal women.

This study reports on the use of a new transdermal delivery system for estrogen replacement therapy. This was a 12 week open multicenter trial using patches that delivered 0.05 mg/24 hour of 17 beta-estradiol applied twice weekly, every 72 hours, with one week interval after each 3 weeks. Results indicate an overall significant improvement on climacteric complaints with a highly significant and time-related reduction in the two most frequent symptoms: hot flushes and night sweating. Neither local nor systemic side effects were prevalent. By the end of treatment mean plasma levels of estradiol and FSH were 50.6 pg/ml and 46.8 mIU/ml, respectively. It is concluded that this new system of transdermal estrogen replacement therapy significantly reduces the main postmenopausal symptoms, produces adequate plasma estradiol levels and allows good compliance to treatment.

[Autochthonous Behçet's disease. Apropos of 73 cases]. / La maladie de Behçet autochtone. A propos de 73 cas.

A multicenter study of Behçet's disease in France confirms the male predominance (62 p. cent), the mean age of onset in the 4th decade, the frequent muco-cutaneous, ocular, articular manifestations (94 p. cent), the skin hypersensitivity (68 p. cent). The forms with arthralgia predominate; the knees are especially affected; arthritis has a favorable course; the para-articular forms are infrequent and in 4 cases, are associated with ankylosing spondylarthritis. HLA B5 is found in 47 p. cent of the cases. HLA-B12 in 22 p. cent. HLA-B5 is associated with eye involvement in 62 p. cent of the cases, HLA-B12 is associated with skin involvement in 67 p. cent of the cases. The effectiveness of colchicine and, at a lesser degree, of steroids, is confirmed.

The diagnosis and prognosis of the 2nd clinical stage of the endometrial carcinoma.

The clinical and histopathological findings of 35 patients with endometrial carcinoma, 2nd Clinical Stage, allow us to conclude: the exclusive cervical involvement does not signify an important impoverishment of the prognosis. As in the 1st Clinical Stage, the outer myometrial infiltration and histologic differentiation are reliable prognostic parameters. The cervical participation in the endometrial carcinoma as is observed in the diagnostic D & C was only corroborated in 61% of the operated cases.