Prolactin and aggression in women with fertility problems.

This study tested the hypothesis that women with higher prolactin feel more hostility, anger and aggression. A total of 66 women with moderate fertility problems were grouped into the 50% who had the highest and the 50% who had the lowest levels of prolactin. Levels of hostility, aggression and anger were compared. Women with higher prolactin levels did not report significantly increased hostility. After Bonferroni correction, women with lower prolactin showed non-significantly increased scores on two measures of state anger, and on a measure of trait temper. When comparing those with the highest and lowest 20% of prolactin levels, those with lower prolactin had non-significantly higher scores on trait temper and outward expression of anger, and non-significantly lower scores for control of anger. Although non-significant, these findings run counter to those of earlier studies on this topic. Implications for future research and patient care are discussed.

Visual-spatial cognition in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome: the role of androgens.

STUDY QUESTION: Are women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) better at three-dimensional mental rotation than other women? SUMMARY ANSWER: Women with PCOS scored significantly higher on a mental rotation task than a female control group. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: PCOS is a condition characterized by elevated testosterone levels. Some researches have found that three-dimensional mental rotation task performance is positively correlated with testosterone levels. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This cross-sectional study was conducted between June 2006 and January 2009. The participants were 69 women with PCOS and 41 controls recruited from five gynaecology clinics in London. The control group consisted of non-PCOS women of comparable subfertility to PCOS group. These groups sizes gave roughly 80% power to detect moderate effect sizes for the main statistical test. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Participants were recruited at London gynaecology clinics. The women were aged between 18 and 43. PCOS was diagnosed based on the Rotterdam criteria. Controls were women who experienced some degree of subfertility. Blood samples from participants were frozen for up to 4 months until being assayed by direct electrochemiluminescence. The mental rotation task was undertaken electronically. Some questionnaires and other tasks were completed as control measures. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Women with PCOS scored significantly higher than controls: median (range) 3.00 (0-9) and 2.00 (0-8), respectively (U = 1147.500, N1 = 69, N2 = 41, P < 0.047). Within the PCOS group, circulating levels of testosterone were significantly positively correlated with three-dimensional scoring (rs = 0.376, n = 56, P < 0.002), whereas estradiol was significantly negatively correlated with three-dimensional scoring (rs = -0.473, n = 29, P < 0.010). In the control group, the relationship between sex hormones and mental rotation was non-significant. Other factors, including general intelligence and social class, did not account for these findings. A subgroup analysis comparing hyperandrogenic PCOS cases, non-hyperandrogenic PCOS cases and controls, in which age and body mass index were controlled for using ANCOVA, found a non-significant difference in three-dimensional scoring between the three groups (F = 1.062, d.f. = 1, 73, P < 0.351). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: The small number of women in the control group meant that correlations were underpowered in this group. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: This study is the first to find a benefit of PCOS in visuospatial cognition, and the first to find a link between visuospatial cognition and sex hormones in PCOS. The fact that the correlations went in the opposite direction in the PCOS group compared with the controls might suggest the influence of increased prenatal exposure to androgen in PCOS. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): The assays for this study were funded by the Department of Psychology, City University London. All authors report no conflicts of interest.

Iontophoresis-mediated transdermal permeation of peptide dendrimers across human epidermis.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The overall aim of the present work was to elucidate the effects of iontophoresis on assisting permeation/deposition of peptide dendrimers across/within human skin. PROCEDURES: A series of peptide dendrimers containing arginine and histidine as terminal acids were synthesized and characterized. These dendrimers were subjected to passive and iontophoretic permeation studies across human epidermis. RESULTS: The synthesized peptide dendrimers were found to be stable in epidermal, dermal and skin extracts up to 6 h. Passive diffusion studies revealed that none of the synthesized peptide dendrimers permeated human epidermis up to 6 h, although minute concentrations of low molecular weight dendrimers were detected in receptor medium at the end of 24 h. Application of iontophoresis significantly increased the permeation of all the tested peptide dendrimers across human skin in a molecular weight-dependent manner compared to simple passive diffusion. Electromigration was found to be the dominant mechanism behind the iontophoretic permeation of peptide dendrimers across human skin. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that iontophoresis is an effective technique in enhancing the transdermal permeation of peptide dendrimers. MESSAGE OF THE PAPER: This study foresees the possibility of applying peptide dendrimers in iontophoretic delivery of drugs and macromolecules across/within the skin.

Development of an in-line HPLC fingerprint ion-trap mass spectrometric method for identification and quality control of Radix Scrophulariae.

Chromatographic fingerprinting has been widely accepted as a crucial method for qualitative and quantitative analyses of bioactives within traditional Chinese medicine. A fingerprint provides detailed information, specific for any given herb, thus facilitating the quality control measures of a given traditional Chinese medicine. In this article, quality assessment of Radix Scrophulariae was achieved by using high performance liquid chromatography combining diode-array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS). Eight batches of sample obtained from different origins in China were used to establish the fingerprint and quantitative analyses. By comparing the retention times, UV and MS spectral data with reference standards, four characteristic peaks in the chromatograms were confirmed as corresponding to acetoside, angoroside C, cinnamic acid, and harpagoside. In addition, other two characteristic peaks were tentatively identified, following the literature interpretation of HPLC-ESI-MS and LC-MS/MS (affording structural information) to be sibirioside A and scrophuloside B(4), respectively. The results indicated that the newly developed HPLC-DAD-MS fingerprint method would be suitable for quality control of Radix Scrophulariae.

Development and validation of a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for quantification of peptide dendrimers in human skin permeation experiments.

The aim of the present work was to develop and validate a simple RP-HPLC method with UV detection to quantify peptide dendrimers in skin permeation experiments. Six dendrimers of varying positive charges (4(+), 8(+) and 16(+)) containing either histidine or arginine as terminal aminoacids were prepared by solid phase peptide synthesis. Mobile phase containing 0.02% (v/v) heptafluorobutyric acid in 90% acetonitrile-water was capable of separating all dendrimers from interfering peaks of receptor fluid. For the calibration of each dendrimer, a different dendrimer from the same class was selected as the internal standard. The results of preliminary human skin permeation studies showed that the developed analytical method can be successfully used for the quantification of cationic poly(aminoacid)-based dendrimers in skin permeation experiments.

The advance of dendrimers--a versatile targeting platform for gene/drug delivery.

The quest towards achieving a better understanding of underlying mechanisms by which genetic factors contribute to human disease has gathered considerable momentum, most notably due to the drafting of the complete human genome sequence. This has in turn accelerated research into identifying genes responsible for a plethora of genetic, infectious and metabolic diseases with the vision that therapies can then be developed. Although achieving a therapeutic intervention by gene delivery is perfectly feasible, the practical approach to achieving such a goal, at least in vivo, has proved far more challenging. Employing viruses as gene vectors has to-date proven to be the most effective method of delivery however concerns have emerged about both the short and long-term risks they pose. These fears being confirmed by incidents which led to the tragic deaths of subjects believed to have been triggered by adeno- & retroviral vectors used in clinical trials. This prompted many in the field to turn their research focus towards developing non-viral vectors deemed not only to be safer (non-immunogenic) than their viral counterparts but with a greater gene loading capacity. Polycationic dendrimers (PCDs) as vectors for this purpose have attracted significant interest due to their ease of synthesis, versatility and tolerability. This review will explore the physicochemical parameters crucial to PCD-mediated gene delivery and highlight some innovative strategies designed to maximise transfection efficacy and facilitate tissue-targeting of these elaborate macromolecules.