'It's magic stuff': the experiences of patients with ankylosing spondylitis taking anti-TNF-alpha medication.

INTRODUCTION: Several studies have identified the efficacy of anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha (anti-TNF-alpha) treatment in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). However, few studies have explored the perceptions of patients taking this new medication. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of anti-TNF-alpha on the quality of life of people with AS. METHODS: A qualitative approach was adopted to provide a holistic understanding of participants' views and experiences in the context of their overall lives. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained. RESULTS: Eight people participated and described a significant improvement in their physical and psychological status, leading to a more positive outlook on their life. Specific areas highlighted were employment, activities of daily living, hobbies and relationships with partners and family, some of which are not captured by current AS-specific outcome measures. Negative aspects of anti-TNF-alpha use were described as the inconvenience of monitoring and issues relating to travelling abroad. All participants expressed concern about the possibility of being withdrawn from treatment and the perceived impact this would have on their lives. CONCLUSIONS: Anti-TNF-alpha treatment has a positive impact on the lives of people with AS, such that a major concern is being withdrawn from treatment, highlighting the need to provide tailored support to people being withdrawn from treatment. To capture the full impact of anti-TNF-alpha treatment, further consideration needs to be given to the choice of appropriate outcome measures.

Plasma progesterone and prolactin changes in superovulated women before, during, and immediately after laparoscopy for in vitro fertilization and their relation to pregnancy.

To define changes in peripheral plasma progesterone (P) and prolactin (PRL) levels in relation to oocyte recovery for in vitro fertilization (IVF), the authors studied these hormones in 20 women before, during, and after oocyte recovery for IVF. The patients were superovulated with clomiphene citrate and human menopausal gonadotropin and underwent general anesthesia (19 women) or epidural anesthesia (1 woman) and laparoscopy for follicular aspiration. One half of the women were given bromocriptine to control PRL levels during anesthesia. There was a marked drop in P levels (mean decrease of 76%) within the 2 hours after induction of anesthesia and follicular aspiration. PRL levels rapidly rose in patients not treated with bromocriptine. Four of the 20 patients became pregnant after embryo transfer, and in these women P levels were significantly higher than in nonpregnant patients before and during oocyte recovery. Changes in PRL levels and P levels during oocyte retrieval were not related to the occurrence of pregnancy.

Induction of ovulation and fertility in amenorrheic women by pulsatile low-dose gonadotropin-releasing hormone.

In functional hypothalamic amenorrhea, failure of ovulation probably results from deficient hypothalamic secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). We treated 14 infertile women in whom this condition was resistant to clomiphene with pulses of 5 to 15 micrograms of GnRH administered subcutaneously by portable pumps at 90-minute intervals in 36 cycles of treatment. Ovulation occurred in 30 cycles (83 per cent) and was followed by normal luteal function in 24. Singleton pregnancy occurred after 13 (54 per cent) of these cycles. Ovarian ultrasound consistently showed a single dominant follicle, and follicular-phase levels of gonadotropins and urinary estrone glucuronide were in the normal range in all cycles of treatment except two in which mild ovarian overstimulation occurred. Plasma profiles of GnRH and luteinizing hormone were highly pulsatile after subcutaneous administration of GnRH, and mean peak plasma levels of GnRH were comparable to those in pituitary portal blood. We conclude that treatment with low-dose subcutaneous pulses of GnRH is a safe, effective, and physiologic method of restoring reproductive function in hypothalamic amenorrhea and that it has advantages over gonadotropin therapy.

Pituitary autonomy in hyperprolactinemic secondary amenorrhea: results of hypothalamic-pituitary testing.

Twenty-seven women with secondary amenorrhea of greater than six months duration were subjected to multiple testing of hypothalamo-pituitary function. They were divided into normo-prolactinemic (Group 1 mean serum prolactin (PRL) 9.8 ng/ml; range 6.8 to 13.0 ng/ml; n=9) and hyperprolactinemic (Group 2 mean 37.5 ng/ml; range 19.2 to 93.7 ng/ml; n=18) groups on the basis of 4 weekly baseline determinations. Group 2 had significantly (P less than .05) lower serum LH and urinary pregnanediol levels than did Group 1; there was no statistical difference between the groups in serum FSH, T4, T3 or urinary estrogen measurements. Two women in Group 2 were found to have a pituitary chromophobe adenoma. Group 2 women showed no significant rises in serum PRL following stimulation tests with thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH, 200 microng iv) and metoclopramide (10 mg orally), which caused significant responses in Group 1. The TSH response to TRH was, however, preserved in Group 2, while it was subnormal in Group 1 subjects. Both groups showed similar FSH and LH responses to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH, 25 microng iv). No significant suppression of serum PRL was seen in Group 2 patients given L-Dopa (500 mg orally),, which produced a significant response (P less than 0.05) in Group 1 subjects, while all patient showed marked reduction in serum PRL values following 2-bromo-alpha-ergocryptine (CB-154, 2.5 mg orally). When compared with other Group 2 members, the 2 cases with proven pituitary adenomata gave similar responses to the stimulation-inhibition tests and were not clearly distinguished on this basis. We conclude: 1. The pattern of PRL responses to dynamic tests, although of pathophysiological interest an autonomous pituitary lesions in patients with hyperprolactinemic secondary amenorrhea. 2. Such dynamic tests, although a pathophysiological interest, provide no clinical information additional to that provided by the mean basal serum PRL value. 3. In clinical practice, such dynamic tests should be confined to patients with mean serum PRL levels at around the upper limit of the normal range.