Bleeding pattern, tolerance and patient satisfaction with a drospirenone-containing oral contraceptive evaluated in 3488 women in Europe, the Middle East and Canada.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to assess the bleeding pattern, tolerance and patient satisfaction associated with an oral contraceptive (OC) containing 3 mg of drospirenone and 30 mcg of ethinyl estradiol under real-life conditions. STUDY DESIGN: A multicenter, prospective and observational six-cycle study was conducted in 12 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Canada. The efficacy variables included an assessment of bleeding patterns, premenstrual symptoms of water retention and patient satisfaction as determined by a visual analog scale. RESULTS: A total of 3488 women was enrolled in the study. The percentage of women with intermenstrual bleeding decreased from 27.9% at baseline to 5.4% at the end of Cycle 6, while dysmenorrhea decreased from 67% to 17.7%. Also, amenorrhea decreased from 21.3% to 7.5%. The decreases in all three parameters were statistically significant (p<.0001). Approximately 70% of the women reported abdominal bloating and/or breast tenderness at baseline and less than 38% did so at the end of Cycle 6 (p<.0001). Patient satisfaction increased for all investigated items. Upon completion of the study, 86.2% of the women answered "yes" to continuing treatment with this OC. CONCLUSION: The OC containing 3 mg of drospirenone and 30 mcg of ethinyl estradiol has beneficial effects on bleeding pattern, symptoms of water retention and patient satisfaction.

Placental soluble fms-like tyrosine-kinase-1 (sFlt-1) in pregnant women with preeclampsia.

UNLABELLED: The pathophysiology of preeclampsia remains largely unknown. A number of circulating placenta-produced factors have been implicated in causing the endothelial dysfunction and the clinical phenotype characteristic of preeclampsia. AIM: Determination of serum levels of placental soluble fms-like tyrosine-kinase-1 (sFlt-1) in pregnant women with preeclampsia. Eleven pregnant women with preeclampsia and 11 healthy women (controls) were included in the study. Determination of sFlt-1 was done with ELISA. The mean serum sFlt-1 levels of pregnant women with preeclampsia were twice as high as that of women with normal pregnancy. The highest level of sFlt-1 was found in women with severe preeclampsia. In women with mild form of preeclampsia the sFlt-1 level was close to that of the controls. sFlt-1 appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and its serum levels can be used as a diagnostic marker of preeclampsia.