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Biomedical subjects

C Faiman

Publications and source records attributed to C Faiman.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
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↗
PubMed1978

Studies on human sexual development. VI. Concentrations of unconjugated dehydroepiandrosterone, estradiol, and estriol in amniotic fluid throughout gestation.

Concentrations of unconjugated dehydroepiandrosterone, estradiol, and estriol were measured in samples of amniotic fluid from uneventful pregnancies of 9-40 weeks conceptual age. There was no apparent influence of fetal sex upon the levels of these steroids. Dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations rose slightly from 9-20 weeks, and then showed little further change. Estradiol concentrations declined slightly from 9-20 weeks; after 32 weeks gestation, there was a 2-fold rise to term. Estriol levels rose in almost exponential fashion throughout gestation.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1978

Maternal serum estrogen and progesterone concentrations preceding normal labor.

Simultaneous measurement of serum concentrations of estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and progesterone were carried out in multiple serial blood samples obtained during the last 3-10 weeks of pregnancy, labor, and the immediate postpartum period in 5 normal women. Estrogen and progesterone levels showed a small, but statistically significant diurnal variation during pregnancy. They did not change during labor; however, with the exception of E1 levels, all declined following delivery. Individual patterns preceding labor, derived from calculated moving mean values, showed no consistent decline in progesterone levels nor a surge in E1 and E2 concentrations whereas estriol levels showed a steady rise starting 14-28 days prior to the onset of labor. Whether this E3 elevation reflects fetal maturation and/or plays a role in the triggering mechanism of labor is unknow. Failure to detect changes in E1, E2, and progesterone levels in the maternal peripheral circulation does not preclude the possibility that alterations of metabolism of these hormones in the fetal or uterine compartments might be involved in the initiation of human labor.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Pituitary-ovarian relationships preceding the menopause. I. A cross-sectional study of serum follice-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin, estradiol, and progesterone levels.

Serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin, estradiol, and progesterone concentrations were measured in 58 ovulating women in different age groups (20 to 29, 34 to 39, 40 to 44, and 45 to 50 years) at five- to seven-day intervals through a single menstrual cycle and in 18 postmenopausal women sampled weekly five to six times. The over-all hormone patterns were similar in four premenopausal groups. However, mean serum FSH levels increased with age and significantly higher concentrations were found in the 40 to 50 years group than in the 20 to 29 year group. Serum LH levels did not show a similar rise with age, although follicular LH levels in the oldest group were higher than in the 20 to 29 year group. Prolactin and estradiol concentrations did not change with age prior to the menopause, but luteal progesterone levels were lower in the three older premenopausal groups than in the 20 to 29 year group. Postmenopausal women showed elevated FSH and LH, decreased prolactin, and negligible estradiol and progesterone levels. There was an over-all significant linear correlation between prolactin and estradiol concentrations. It appears that the menopause is preceded by several years of rising gonadotropin, predominantly FSH, levels. During this period, ovarian estrogen production appears to be maintained and ovulation continues, but luteal progesterone levels decline. It is likely that these premenopausal alterations in pituitary-ovarian relationships reflect depletion of ovarian follicles.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Isolated thyrotropin deficiency due to a pituitary tumour.

Hypothyroidism due to isolated deficiency of thyrotropin (TSH) associated with an enlarged sella turcica, presumably the result of a nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma, occurred in a 58-year-old man. Low serum concentrations of TSH and thyroid hormones, together with the lack of TSH response to administration of thyroid releasing hormone, indicated a pituitary deficiency of TSH. Serum values of other pituitary hormones were normal.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1977

Nonpuerperal galactorrhea and hyperprolactinemia. Clinical findings, endocrine features and therapeutic responses in 56 cases.

The clinical and endocrine features, and the responses to different treatment modalities, were examined in 56 patients with galactorrhea and/or hyperprolactinemia after a two month to six year follow-up period. A pituitary adenoma was diagnosed in 17 patients. A prolactin-cell adenoma was identified histologically in eight patients. Other etiologic factors were myxedema (two patients), phenothiazine ingestion (six patients) and breast manipulation (four patients). In 27 patients, including three with abnormalities of the sella turcica, no causal factor was found, and their condition was labelled as dysfunctional in origin. Symptoms were preceded by childbirth in 11 patients and by estrogen-progestin contraception in 22; pituitary adenomas were discovered in both groups in approximately the same frequency (30%) as in the over-all study group. Aside from roentgenographic studies, as well as visual field perimetry in a few cases, a serum prolactin level above 100 ng/ml was the only indicator of a pituitary prolactin-cell adenoma. Prolactin-suppression tests (L-DOPA and 2alpha-Br-ergocryptine) were found to be of no value in discriminating between tumoral and dysfunctional conditions. No significant alterations in prolactin levels occurred after water loading irrespective of basal levels or the nature of the pathologic process. Selective pituitary tumor excision (eight patients) was followed by rapid normalization of prolactin levels and disappearance of clinical abnormalities. Conversely, after pituitary irradiation (eight patients), improvement tended to be slower. Treatment of infertility in those patients without an apparent organic lesion was more successful with 2alpha-Br-ergocryptine (three of three) than with clomiphene (two of seven). Pregnancies following the administration of drugs or after surgical treatment were uneventful. Since follow-up resulted in the early diagnosis of pituitary tumors from seven to 56 months after initial investigation, and since no diagnostic tools are currently available which help to discriminate between tumoral and dysfunctional conditions before abnormalities become evident on roentgenograms, prolonged observation of these patients remains essential.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1977

Studies on human sexual development. IV. Fetal pituitary and serum, and amniotic fluid concentrations of prolactin.

Prolactin concentrations were measured in 161 amniotic fluid specimens from 8-40 weeks fetal age and the levels compared with those observed in 45 fetal and neonatal cord sera and in 42 fetal pituitary specimens. Amniotic fluid prolactin levels rose steeply between 12-16 weeks gestation, and then declined to term; the calculated total amniotic fluid content of prolactin showed a similar pattern, but the peak was later, at about 26 weeks gestation. Amniotic fluid concentrations consistently exceeded fetal serum prolactin levels, even during the last trimester, when fetal serum and pituitary levels were highest. The data are compatible with a fetal origin for amniotic fluid prolactin, but only if one assumes that flux of prolactin out of amniotic fluid compartment is negligible, that the fetal kidney in mid-pregnancy clears prolactin at a rate virtually equal to the glomerular filtration rate, and the fetal pituitary shows secretion characteristics quite different from those of the adult gland.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1977

Studies on human sexual development. V. Concentrations of testosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and progesterone in human amniotic fluid throughout gestation.

Concentrations of unconjugated testosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (170HP) and progesterone were measured by radioimmunoassay in amniotic fluid (AF) specimens from normal pregnancies of 9-40 weeks gestation. In two-thirds of samples from pregnancies with male fetuses. AF testosterone exceeded the upper limit found in female samples, with minimal overlap in the 12-18 week period of gestation. Although AF testosterone levels associated with male and female fetuses were both significantly lower toward term, the sex-difference persisted. Between 9-19 weeks gestation, fetal sex was also found to influence AF 170HP, a steroid thought to be predominantly of placental and fetal adrenal origin; in this case, female levels exceeded male. Awareness of the influence of sex and gestation upon AF concentrations of these steroids is an important prerequisite for their application to the prenatal diagnosis of endocrine disease (e.g., congenital adrenal hyperplasia). There was no sex difference in AF progesterone concentrations at 12-18 weeks gestation. The median progesterone concentration at 34-40 weeks was higher with female fetuses, but this difference may be related to a difference in gestational age between AF samples obtained from male and female fetuses.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1977

Adrenocortical function in hyperprolactinemic women.

To study the effects of prolactin (PRL) on adrenocortical function in humans, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAS), androstenedione (delta) and testosterone (T) were measured in serum obtained from 35 hyperprolactinemic women with galactorrhea and amenorrhea before and after treatment with bromocriptine-induced fall in mean PRL levels from 82 +/- 8 (SE) to 14 +/- 2 ng/ml (n = 39, P less than 0.0005), DHAS fell from 322 +/- 21 to 237 +/- 21 microgram/dl (n = 39); P less than 0.0005), DHA fell from 492 +/- 47 to 378 +/- 30 ng/dl (n = 39; P less than 0.01) while T (n = 16) and delta (n = 13) levels were unchanges (44 +/- 4 vs. 49 +/- 4 ng/dl and 280 +/- 55 vs. 236 +/- 40 ng/dl, respectively). In addition, 4 women were infused iv with 25 microgram synthetic ACTH over 4 h and serial blood samples drawn while hyperprolactinemic, and again 2-4 months later following normalization of PRL levels by bromocriptine. Although pre-infusion levels of DHAS were lower when PRL levels were normalized, no significant differences in responses of circulating DHAS, DHA, T, cortisol and 17-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations were detected between the two infusions. Since DHAS is virtually an exclusive product of the adrenal cortex, and since high PRL levels appear to inhibit ovarian steroid production, the findings suggest that hyperprolactinemia selectively stimulates adrenocortical androgen production.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1977

Sex steroid production by the human fetus: its role in morphogenesis and control by gonadotropins.

Normal male genital differentiation requires fetal testicular secretion of both testosterone and the nonsteroidal müllerian-inhibitory factor. It appears that secretion of testosterone, at least during the critical period of differentiation, occurs in response to stimulation by CG, although pituitary LG may influence Leydig cell function in later fetal life. To date, there is no evidence to support a similar endocrine function for the fetal ovary in female genital differentiation. In both sexes normal fetal pituitary gonadotropin secretion appears to be required for maturation of the germ cells and related elements. The pattern of FSH and LH secretion in the fetus reflects gradual maturation of a functional hypothalamo-pituitary unit responsive to feedback inhibition by sex steroids. The higher levels of gonadotropins in female fetuses from from 12--20 weeks suggest either that this maturation occurs earlier in males than in females, or, more probably, that feedback recognition of androgens is established before gestation reflects development of an estrogen-mediated feedback mechanism, and in addition the possible influence that hormones, such as prolactin or placental estradiol, may have on testicular steroidogenesis.

Androgens↗
PubMed1976

Fertility in women with gonadal dysgenesis.

A successful pregnancy in a patient with a 45,X/47,XXX karyotype who had premature menopause is described. Review of the literature revealed an additional 24 cases of fertility in women with gonadal dysgenesis associated with a 45,X chromosomal line. Their reproductive history showed a total of 58 pregnancies. However, abortion, stillbirth, and abnormal progeny, including five with chromosomal errors, were common. Therefore, such patients should be advised regarding their reduced fertility potential and the possibility of abnormal offspring.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Reproductive endocrinology of female chimpanzees: a suitable model of humans.

Similarities between reproductive processes in humans and chimpanzees have led to speculation that the chimpanzee might be an excellent reproductive-endocrine model of humans. Data comparing patterns and concentrations of serum gonadotropins, prolactin, and sex steroids in female humans, chimpanzees, and rhesus monkeys sustain this concept. The striking evidence that levels of estrone, estradiol, estriol, progesterone, and chorionic gonadotropin are similar during human and chimpanzee pregnancy support the contention that chimpanzees, like humans but unlike rhesus monkeys, have a definitive fetoplacental unit. Likewise, during normal menstrual cycles serum patterns of LH, FSH, progesterone, and estradiol are similar in women and chimpanzees, but differ in rhesus monkeys. Thus by using the chimpanzee it may be possible to accurately assess the safety for human use of compounds that might affect reproductive-endocrine processes without direct exposure to humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Studies on human sexual development. III. Fetal pituitary and serum, and amniotic fluid concentrations of LH, CG, and FSH.

Fetal sera (9-20 weeks fetal age, n = 80) and pituitary glands (9.5-20 weeks, n = 36) obtained from hysterotomy specimens, and amniotic fluids (amniocentesis; 8-40 weeks, n = 123) were assayed for FSH, LH (betaLH assay) and CG (betaCG assay). Results are expressed as mass of pure hormone. Prior to 12 weeks fetal age, pituitary, serum and amniotic fluid concentrations of LH and FSH were low or unmeasurable. In contrast, levels of CG in serum and in amniotic fluid were clearly measurable prior to 12 weeks. There was a definite CG peak at 11-14 weeks with levels up to 550 ng/ml in serum and 7400 ng/ml in amniotic fluid. Although LH levels began to rise at 12 weeks, when CG levels started to decline, serum levels of LH from 14-20 weeks in males (2-13 ng/ml) were still lower than the majority of CG levels at this time (6-115 ng/ml). These observations suggest that CG is the primary stimulus to the fetal Leydig cell which results in testosterone secretion (peak 11-17 weeks) and masculine differentiation of the genital tract. Significantly lower concentrations of both FSH and LH were observed in pituitary, serum and amniotic fluid between 12-20 weeks fetal age in males compared to females. This may be a result of feedback inhibition by the higher concentrations of testosterone in males at this time. Amniotic fluid FSH and LH concentrations correlated with their respective serum and pituitary values (P less than 0.01) indicating that amniotic fluid may provide a convenient index of fetal serum concentrations.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1976

Pituitary gonadotropin function during human pregnancy: serum FSH and LH levels before and after LHRH administration.

Pituitary gonadotropin reserve was evaluated in 8 normal pregnant women (13-35 weeks gestation) by measuring serum concentrations of FSH and LH (betaLH assay) before and after an IV bolus of 100 mug LHRH. Basal levels of FSH and LH were low or undetectable. LHRH administration failed to stimulate FSH release but did result in a small short-lived rise in LH levels. These findings provide further evidence that pituitary gonadotropin synthesis and release are inhibited during pregnancy.

Female↗
PubMed1976

Pituitary-gonadal relations in infancy: 2. Patterns of serum gonadal steroid concentrations in man from birth to two years of age.

Testosterone, estradiol, 170H-progesterone, and androstenedione (except in cord samples) concentrations were determined in cord sera (30 male and 14 female) and in peripheral sera from infants (121 male and 110 female), age 1 day to 2 years. Male and female cord serum levels of these steroids were not significantly different. In both sexes levels during the first week were lower than those in cord sera. In male infants serum testosterone and 170H-progesterone levels rose sharply in the second week of life, reached a peak at 1-2 months, and then declined to the range seen in later childhood by 6 months of age; male serum androstenedione and estradiol concentrations were higher during the first 2 months of life, but no distinct pattern of rise and fall was seen. In girls serum testosterone levels fell in the first week to the range seen throughout childhood; serum concentration of estradiol, androstenedione, and 17OH-progesterone in girls were markedly variable, with many values above the childhood range being seen, particularly in the first 6 months. These data provide further evidence of active Leydig cell function in male infants. They suggest that there is also ovarian secretion of sex steroids in some female infants in response to the elevated FSH and LH levels which are seen at this time.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Endocrine effects of vasectomy in man.

Serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone (T) and free testosterone index (FTI) were measured serially in 11 fertile men, ages 25 to 40, 4 weeks before to 40 weeks after elective vasectomy. During the 1st week postvasectomy there was a significant fall in FSH levels (P less than 0.001) and FTI (P less than 0.05), with recovery by 2 weeks. This acute response may be due to general surgical stress. Thereafter, the over-all mean FSH level was significantly (P less than 0.05) below the prevasectomy level; over-all levels of LH, T, and FTI did not change. We speculate that this decline in mean FSH levels is compatible with the existence of an as yet unidentified T-independent testicular factor influencing FSH production.

Adult↗