Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C Faiman

Publications and source records attributed to C Faiman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Sex hormones and adipose tissue distribution in premenopausal cigarette smokers.

Androgen dominance is associated with android (abdominal) adiposity and increased health risk. Cigarette smoking has an anti-estrogenic effect in women and recent evidence has linked cigarette smoking with abdominally-localized adipose tissue. The relationship between cigarette smoking, endogenous sex steroid levels and adipose tissue distribution in women has not been examined. We assessed anthropometric indicators of fat distribution and serum levels of estradiol, testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in 56 women aged 20-35 years (27 cigarette smokers and 29 non-smokers). Free estradiol and testosterone were estimated. Endocrine and anthropometric variables were adjusted for overall fatness. Cigarette smokers had significantly higher mean serum levels of SHBG than non-smokers (63.38 nmol/l and 57.85 nmol/l, respectively; P less than 0.01); there were no differences in serum estradiol, testosterone or estimated free levels of these sex steroids. Cigarette smokers had a more android distribution of adipose tissue: significantly greater waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) (P less than 0.01), greater waist-to-thigh ratio (WTR) (P less than 0.02) and smaller thigh girth (P less than 0.05). Waist and umbilical girths were greater in cigarette smokers (P less than 0.0002), but there was no difference in the sum of central skinfold thicknesses (abdominal, iliac crest and supra-spinale). A significant interaction (P less than 0.05) of cigarette smoking with serum testosterone levels was observed in effects on WHR; the relative impact of serum testosterone upon abdominal adiposity was greater in cigarette smokers than in non-smokers. The results suggest that in premenopausal women, cigarette smoking promotes android adiposity by increasing abdominal fat deposition and decreasing femoral fat deposition via interactive effects with sex steroids. The results also suggest an effect of cigarette smoking on serum SHBG, independent of effects on androgen/estrogen balance.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1992

Noninvasive diagnosis of resistant ovary syndrome by ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVE: To compare transvaginal ultrasonographic features of the ovaries and endometrium of patients with premature ovarian failure to normally cycling women on oral contraceptives (OCs), menopausal women with an equivalent duration of amenorrhea to the premature ovarian failure group, and patients with Turner's syndrome. DESIGN: Transvaginal ultrasonography in groups of women with premature ovarian failure, OC, and menopause. SETTING: All subjects were studied in an academic tertiary care center. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Seventeen women with premature ovarian failure, 20 volunteers on OC, 20 with menopause, and 4 patients with Turner's syndrome were studied. INTERVENTION: None, except for OCs in the OC group only. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Frequency of ovarian, ovarian follicle, and endometrial visualization and their respective measurement in the three groups. RESULTS: At least one ovary was visualized in 84% of the premature ovarian failure patients as compared with 95% of the OC and menopause groups and 25% of the Turner patients. Mean ovarian volume was smaller in the premature ovarian failure group as compared with the OC group but equal to that of the menopause group. In the premature ovarian failure group, 41% had follicles in their ovaries as compared with 95% in the OC group, 5% in the menopause group, and none in the Turner group. The number of follicles per ovary was significantly lower in the premature ovarian failure as compared with the OC group, whereas only one subject had a single follicle in the menopause group. Premature ovarian failure subjects with follicles had larger ovaries than those without follicles. Endometrial thickness was not different among the groups. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography may serve to identify a substantial subset (approximately 40%) of premature ovarian failure patients with ovarian follicles and potential for fertility consistent with the diagnosis of resistant ovary syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Control of gonadotropin secretion in the ovine fetus. III. Effect of castration on serum follicle-stimulating hormone levels during the last trimester of gestation.

Gonadal involvement in fetal FSH regulation was examined by studying FSH levels in 13 female (7 castrate and 6 sham control) and 13 male (8 castrate and 5 sham control) chronically catheterized ovine fetuses operated upon in utero at 106-115 days gestation (term = 147 days). These fetuses had been studied previously for pulsatile LH secretion every 2-7 days over a 2- to 38-day period until fetal delivery or death. From each study day, 3 1-h spaced blood samples (1.5-2.0 ml) were taken for FSH determination by RIA (NIH FSH-S8 standard), and the results were averaged. The overall mean was then calculated for each fetus. In female fetuses, there was no significant difference in mean serum FSH levels between castrates [53.4 +/- 5.0 ng/ml (+/- SEM)] and controls (52.5 +/- 14.4 ng/ml). In contrast, serum FSH levels in the eugonadal males were significantly (P less than 0.001) lower (23.4 +/- 8.0 ng/ml) than those in castrate males (56.9 +/- 7.1 ng/ml, a value comparable to those observed in both female groups). Mean serum FSH levels declined significantly (P less than 0.001) in castrate fetuses of both sexes after 125 days (61.5 +/- 5.6 vs. 42.4 +/- 7.7 ng/ml in females; 64.1 +/- 6.1 vs. 51.5 +/- 8.6 ng/ml in males). In the males, the FSH decline did not reach sham control levels, which remained unchanged with advancing gestation. Moreover, mean serum FSH levels were significantly higher in a group of 4 male fetuses (62.2 +/- 13.7 ng/ml) castrated at 121-130 days gestation compared to values in 3 age-matched sham castrate controls (22.1 +/- 2.6 ng/ml; P less than 0.001). The increment in serum FSH levels in castrate compared to sham castrate male fetuses demonstrates an important role for the fetal testis in FSH regulation from 106 days gestation until term. The lack of a detectable castration effect on the relatively high serum FSH levels in eugonadal females indicates that the fetal ovary does not play a similar role and suggests that in females, FSH is secreted in a functionally castrate mode. The decline in FSH levels after 125 days in castrate fetuses of both sexes may result at least in part from the previously reported coincident rise in circulating levels of feto-placental sex steroids and/or PRL.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Control of gonadotropin secretion in the ovine fetus. IV. Male-specific entrainment of the hypothalamic control of luteinizing hormone secretion by testosterone in the female ovine fetus.

The role of testosterone (T) in the sex-specific entrainment of hypothalamic LH regulation was studied in five castrate and four sham-castrate chronically catheterized female fetuses androgenized by the prior administration of T cypionate (200 mg, im, every 2 weeks) to pregnant ewes from 30-86 days gestation (term = 147 days). Eight female and three male castrate fetuses served as controls. After a 2-week washout period all fetuses were operated upon in utero between 106-116 days and were studied longitudinally over a 2- to 35-day period. LH pulsatility was determined from blood samples obtained every 15 min over a standard 3-h observation period and assayed for LH by RIA (NIH LH-S16 standard). LH pulse frequency in the castrate androgenized females (41 pulses in 19 observation periods; 1 pulse/1.4 h) was significantly higher than that in non-androgenized female controls (18 pulses in 28 observation periods; 1 pulse/4.7 h observation), but was similar to that in castrate males (23 pulses in 28 observation periods; 1 pulse/1.3 h). Furthermore, LH pulse frequency in the sham castrate androgenized females (26 pulses in 13 observation periods; 1 pulse/1.5 h) was comparable to that in castrate androgenized females as well as that in castrate males. The enhanced LH pulsatility in androgenized female fetuses strongly suggests that T exposure between 30-86 days results in male-specific entrainment of hypothalamic LH regulation. Moreover, the comparable enhancement of LH pulse frequency in both sham castrate and castrate androgenized female groups suggests that in the T-exposed fetus T withdrawal alone is sufficient to result in enhanced LH pulsatility. These findings strongly suggest that T of fetal testicular origin results in male-specific entrainment of hypothalamic function and may be an important feature of male neural organization in this species.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Prolactin and sexual dysfunction in women.

Serum prolactin levels were measured in 48 consecutive sexually dysfunctional women who presented to a sexuality clinic. The prevalence of hyperprolactinemia and mean prolactin level of this group were compared to a control group (blood donor volunteers) of 93 women. One woman in the study group (2.1%) was hyperprolactinemic (serum prolactin greater than 15 micrograms/L). However, the differences in both prevalence of hyperprolactinemia and mean prolactin levels, between groups, were not statistically significant. Neither were differences found in mean prolactin levels among subgroups of women in different diagnostic categories and in those with single vs. multiple diagnoses. Nonetheless, because hyperprolactinemia is readily treatable, we would recommend prolactin determinations in sexually dysfunctional women, particularly in those with associated reproductive irregularity or in whom organic etiology is clinically suspect.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Hypothalamo-pituitary portal development in the ovine fetus.

The ontogeny of the hypothalamo-pituitary portal system was studied in six ovine fetuses, 48-67 days of gestation (term = 147 days) after infusion of the vascular system with a silicone rubber compound. In all of these fetuses, a marked orange blush of silicone rubber could be seen, under the dissecting microscope, extending down the stalk from the hypothalamus to the pituitary. On microscopic examination, extensive and well-developed capillary connections between the median eminence, the pituitary stalk, and pituitary gland were seen in all fetuses. In an additional fetus, aged 45 days, which was not perfused with silicone rubber, portal capillary loops had penetrated the median eminence. These findings suggest that, in the ovine fetus, hypothalamic releasing factors can be transported directly via a portal vascular route to the pituitary gland as early as 45 days of gestation.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Role of endogenous opiates in the modulation of gonadotropin secretion in infant monkeys (Macaca mulatta): effects of naltrexone.

A potential inhibitory role of endogenous opioids in the gonadotropin decline from infancy to the prepubertal period in primates was assessed by examining the effect of the specific opioid antagonist naltrexone on gonadotropin levels in infant rhesus monkeys. Paradoxically, both chronic administration of naltrexone to neonatally castrate males as well as acute administration of graded doses to intact infant females resulted in gonadotropin suppression compared to appropriate vehicle-treated controls. Thus, naltrexone behaves as a gonadotropin secretory antagonist in infant monkeys and cannot be used to unmask a putative inhibitory mechanism involving endogenous opiates.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Failure of naloxone to alter growth hormone and prolactin levels in acromegalic and in hyperprolactinaemic patients.

We examined the effects of high-dose intravenous naloxone administration in four acromegalic patients (mean serum growth hormone level 72 ng/ml) and in seven hyperprolactinaemic women (mean serum prolactin level 59 ng/ml), in order to assess whether this opiate antagonist would be effective in lowering growth hormone and prolactin levels. No effect was observed. This lack of effect suggests that an opioid pathway is not involved in the maintenance of elevated growth hormone or prolactin secretion in these patients. However, conclusions regarding the possible role of endogenous opioids in regulation of pituitary function in normal individuals cannot be drawn from this study.

Acromegaly↗
PubMed1979

The relationship of adrenal androgens to the secretory patterns for cortisol, prolactin, and growth hormone during early puberty.

Serum concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHA-sulfate), cortisol, prolactin, and growth hormone were measured at half-hour intervals for 24 hr in five healthy children aged 8--13 yr. Their adolescent development was assessed by clinical staging, plus determinations of serum FSH, LH, testosterone and estradiol during both wakefulness and sleep. Correlative analysis indicates that there was synchronous secretion of DHA and cortisol, implying regulation of both by ACTH. With advancing age and sexual maturation, there was a progressive rise in mean serum DHA and DHA-sulfate levels, but no similar change in serum cortisol concentrations. There was evidence for enhanced secretion of both growth hormone and prolactin during sleep in all subjects (including one who was hyperprolactinemic), but there was no obvious relationship between levels of these pituitary hormones and the early pubertal rise in adrenal androgens.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Normal metyrapone response after 1 month of high-dose methylprednisolone in cancer patients: a phase I study.

A dose of 125 mg of methylprednisolone was given iv each morning for 28 days to six patients with cancer. The posttreatment mean AM/PM serum cortisol (hydrocortisone) level of 19.55/11.27 microgram/dl showed a statistically significant (P less than 0.05) diurnal rhythm and did not differ from the pretreatment level (19.28/11.85 microgram/dl). The response to metyrapone (750 mg orally, every 4 hours X six doses) was assessed in five of the six patients before and after treatment. No abnormally low Compound S (11-deoxycortisol) levels were observed. The mean serum Compound S level (15.30 microgram/dl) achieved after treatment did not differ significantly from the pretreatment mean level (20.24 microgram/dl, P greater than 0.1). No adverse clinical effects were observed during or after this steroid treatment. Since significant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal suppression has not been demonstrated, this regimen appears to be safe for use in controlled studies of clinical efficacy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1978

Prolactin-secreting tumors and hypogonadism in 22 men.

We studied 22 men with prolactin-secreting pituitary tumors and hypogonadism. Twenty complained of impotence, nine had visual impairment, and three experienced galactorrhea. None of the 17 patients undergoing operation or radiotherapy, or both, were subsequently normoprolactinemic. In all 13 patients treated with bromocryptine major clinical improvement was associated with a decrease in serum prolactin levels and in nine with an increase in serum testosterone. Two patients receiving testosterone replacement therapy showed improved potency only after bromocryptine was administered. The results indicate that hyperprolactinemia frequently induces hypogonadism in men, that bromocryptine ameliorates symptoms of disease previously unchanged by operation or radiotherapy, and that the impotence observed may not be solely the result of hypogonadism.

Adenoma, Acidophil↗
PubMed1978

Hormonal changes in girls with precocious adrenarche: a possible role for estradiol or prolactin.

Serum concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone, DHA sulfate, estradiol, and prolactin in 20 girls with precocious adrenarche were compared with those of healthy girls of varying age and degrees of breast and sex hair development. Production of adrenal androgens, as reflected by serum DHA and DHA-sulfate concentrations, was significantly increased in PA above that in age-matched control subjects. Surprisingly, in spite of their lack of breast growth, the patients with PA also had serum estradiol levels that were higher than in the prepubertal girls and similar to those found in girls with both breast and pubic hair development. Serum prolactin concentrations in the patients with PA were not increased over those of the age-matched (less than 8 years) prepubertal girls. In the older prepubertal ( greater than 8 years) and early pubertal girls serum prolactin levels were lower. The finding of increased estradiol levels suggests that precocious adrenarche is not a distinct endocrine entity, but merely represents a variant of early adolescence in which estrogen secretion is sufficient to influence adrenal 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity with a resultant rise in DHA production, but not sufficient to produce clinically apparent breast changes. The data do not support a similar role for prolactin.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1978

Development of anti-hLH antibodies after therapy with posterior pituitary extract.

This report describes the appearance of high affinity antibodies to human LH in a girl who had been treated for diabetes insipidus with injections of pitressin tannate, plus occasional nasal insufflations of posterior pituitary powder. Immunological studies indicated that the antibody was a 7S IgG directed against the beta subunit of LH, which is not species-specific. The demonstration of immunoassayable LH in a commercially available pitressin preparation strongly suggests that this patient was immunized by bovine or porcine LH. Although studies of her urinary LH excretion and serum LH (by an interstitial cell bioassay system) suggest that at least some of her endogenous LH is not bound by the antibody, the possibility remains that this type of immunization may have important implications for the development and maintenance of normal adult pituitary-ovarian relationships.

Antibodies↗