Relationship between abnormally high levels of plasma CA 125 and resolution of acute pelvic pain in two women with endometrioma.

Two premenopausal women presented with endometrioma and slightly elevated CA 125 plasma levels (42.5 and 39.0 U/ml). After initial evaluation, both patients had an episode of sudden onset of pelvic pain with rapid resolution after a few hours. During the pain episode, CA 125 plasma levels were similar to the initial evaluation (41.7 and 40.3 U/ml), while 12 h after resolution of the pain, very high levels were measured in both patients (630 and 575 U/ml). The absence of tubal abnormalities and the negative peritoneal fluid cultural evaluation demonstrated by laparoscopy suggested a retrospective clinical diagnosis of partial ovarian torsion with sudden spontaneous untwisting. Therefore, an abnormal elevation of CA 125 plasma levels in patients with benign adnexal masses may be correlated with episodes of partial ovarian torsion with subsequent detorsion.

The prevalence of endometriosis in premenopausal women undergoing gynecological surgery.

Endometriosis is a disease of the female pelvic mesenchyme in which tissue with epithelial and stromal characteristics of the endometrium develops in a situation other than in the uterus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of endometriosis in premenopausal women submitted to laparoscopy and/or laparotomy for infertility, chronic pelvic pain, benign ovarian cysts and uterine myomas. The prevalence of the disease was higher in patients with infertility (30.5%), chronic pelvic (45%) and benign ovarian cysts (43%) than in patients with uterine mvomas (8.5%).

Effects of percutaneous electrical stimulation on functional ability, plasma creatine kinase, and pectoralis musculature of normal and genetically dystrophic chickens.

The breast musculature of genetically dystrophic Line 413 and genetically related normal Line 412 chickens were treated in three separate trials with high-frequency electrical stimulation (ES). Beginning on days 7 or 14 ex ovo, each bird received three ES treatments per week. Each stimulation cycle repeated five times per day consisted of 15 s "on" followed by 50 s "off". In the third trial only, the birds were additionally treated beginning day 3 ex ovo with either leucine (100 mg/kg) or the proteinase inhibitor Ep475 (10 mg/kg). ES significantly delayed the onset of righting disability in the dystrophic chickens. However, this improvement was temporary and could be masked by single treatments of either leucine or Ep475. Plasma creatine kinase activities were increased generally in both the stimulated normal and dystrophic birds. In two trials ES increased the relative muscle mass, and in one trial increased protein. ES had little effect on normal muscle mass or protein. However, ES treatment together with either leucine or Ep475 appeared to improve both normal and dystrophic muscle mass and protein. Furthermore ES decreased dystrophic muscle calcium but not acetylcholinesterase activity. On the other hand, ES had no effect on the total normal muscle calcium but increased normal acetylcholinesterase values. In both normal and dystrophic muscle samples, ES treatment in combination with leucine appeared to increase the mean muscle fiber diameters and number of myonuclei, and in the case of the dystrophic muscle, appeared to decrease the relative proportion of vacuolated, degenerating, and intensely oxidative histochemical fibers. In general, stimulation (especially in combination with leucine) appears to alter in varying degrees the phenotypic expression of the muscle disease exhibited in the dystrophic chicken.