Biomedical subjects
G Weiss
Publications and source records attributed to G Weiss.
Isolated follicle-stimulating hormone deficiency in a woman with X chromosomal mosaicism.
Primary amenorrhea was observed in a 40-year-old woman with a proportionate female habitus. Serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) (71 to 97 mIU/ml) and estradiol (less than 10 pg/ml) were in the postmenopausal range, while follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) remained at the lower limit of detection (1 to 6 mIU/ml). LH was found to be biologically active in a mouse Leydig cell testosterone production assay. Chromosomal analysis revealed three major cell lines: 5% 45,X; 83% 46,XX; and 3% 47,XXX. The remaining cells showed apparently random aneuploidy and chromosome rearrangements. Intravenous administration of 150 micrograms of gonadotropin-releasing hormone produced a threefold elevation in LH but did not alter FSH levels. Review of ovarian biopsies performed at age 22 revealed a multitude of primordial follicles and one follicle with antrum formation. There was no evidence of recent or past ovulation. An insulin tolerance test evoked normal responses in serum growth hormone, prolactin, and cortisol. This is the first reported case of an isolated deficiency of FSH associated with mosaicism of the X chromosome. This coexistence of functional and genetic aberrations suggests that the differential secretion of LH and FSH may be related to specific independent loci on the X chromosome.
Hearing and middle ear function in osteogenesis imperfecta.
Fifty-five patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) were studied to determine the extent to which the peripheral auditory mechanisms share in the connective tissue lesion. Ninety-two unaffected relatives and 43 control subjects were also studied. Subjects were divided into age groups younger than and older than 30 years. Hearing loss, most frequently sensorineural, occurred in 49% (younger than 30 years) and 94% (older than 30 years) of patients with OI. A sensorineural pattern of hearing loss, here considered characteristic of OI, was observed in 47% of OI subjects irrespective of age, in 42% of relatives, and 5% of controls. Middle ear analysis by tympanometry and acoustic reflex analysis indicates that, although some patients with OI have a still middle ear system similar to that seen in otosclerosis, the majority display absent acoustic reflexes and increased compliance of the middle ear with notched tympanograms suggestive of anomalous ossicular articulation. Similar findings in otherwise uninvolved relatives suggest a genetic basis for these defects.
Bioassay methods for relaxin: uses and pitfalls.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Synergistic effect of human relaxin and progesterone on human myometrial contractions.
In an in vitro human myometrial strip system, both relaxin and progesterone can independently decrease the amplitude of spontaneous myometrial contractions. However, progesterone and relaxin synergize in this action. Doses of relaxin and progesterone which independently are ineffective, together inhibit myometrial contraction amplitude. Relaxin and progesterone are both products of the corpus luteum, a structure necessary for early pregnancy maintenance. The synergistic action of relaxin and progesterone in vitro suggests a similar in vivo physiologic effect in establishing uterine quiescence.
Steroid effects on relaxin secretion in the rat.
These studies were performed to determine if estrogen and/or androgens are involved in the regulation of relaxin secretion in the pregnant rat. Animals were hysterectomized at Day 15 of pregnancy and either untreated or given a) a subcutaneous Silastic capsule containing crystalline testosterone, b) a subcutaneous Silastic capsule containing crystalline dihydrotestosterone, or c) daily subcutaneous injections of 100 micrograms estradiol. A group of sham-operated animals served as controls. Serum samples taken at Days 14, 16, and 18 of pregnancy were assayed for relaxin and progesterone. Treatment with either estradiol or testosterone attenuated the decline in serum relaxin and progesterone concentrations observed following hysterectomy, whereas dihydrotestosterone (a nonaromatizable androgen) had no effect upon either relaxin or progesterone levels. These results suggest that estradiol and testosterone, previously implicated in the control of luteal progesterone production, also stimulate luteal relaxin secretion. The mechanism by which testosterone stimulates relaxin secretion is probably via its aromatization to estradiol within the corpus luteum.
In vitro induction of relaxin secretion in corpora lutea from nonpregnant rats.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Relaxin in human seminal plasma.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Food fantasies of incarcerated drug users.
In a 1966 survey of food preference associations to narcotics, 47 incarcerated male addicts' actual as well as fantasied oral behaviour was studied. A significant preference was expressed for liquid and solid sweets in both the actual and fantasied experience during periods of abstinence. Retrospective, anecdotal reports indicate that the subjects' food preferences are psychologically determined and are chiefly related to infantile components in their personality makeup. The preference for sweets has the quality of a craving, and the substances consumed are thought of as yielding pleasurable effects resembling those of the drug. The hypothesis was substantiated that infantile hunger is the prototype of the adult's morbid craving and that food preferences reflect his type of early psychosexual need.
Relaxin in normal and pathogenic pregnancies.
Serum relaxin concentrations were quantitated throughout pregnancy. Relaxin levels were higher in the first than in either succeeding trimester of pregnancy. Relaxin concentrations in third-trimester twin pregnancies were not significantly different from those in singleton pregnancies. Relaxin levels in toxemic pregnancies were similar to those of normal pregnancy. In contrast, relaxin concentrations in pregnancies beyond 43 weeks' gestation and in women with premature labor were significantly lower than levels in normal women in the third trimester of pregnancy.
Stimulation of human sperm motility by relaxin.
Relaxin has recently been identified in human seminal plasma (SP). This investigation was undertaken to determine the effect of relaxin on sperm motility. Washed ejaculated human sperm were incubated with or without porcine relaxin. In a series of 37 normal specimens (motility greater than or equal to 60%) relaxin attenuated the decline in grade of forward progression and percentage of motile sperm. Relaxin had a similar effect on a series of 47 subfertile specimens (motility 30% to 40%). Endogenous relaxin may play a role in delaying declines of motility and grade of forward progress in ejaculated sperm.
Pituitary response to LHRH stimulation in women on oral contraceptives: a followup dose response study.
Gonadotropic response to bolus intravenous injection of LHRH was measured in 36 women. Thirty of them were taking five different oral contraceptive preparations with six women in each category, and the remaining six served as controls. 150 micrograms LHRH was given during cycle days 20-25. Serum samples were obtained prior to the bolus injection and at 20 minute intervals for two hours. Five different oral contraceptive agents were selected to compare different progestins with same type and dose of estrogen, and different type or dose of estrogen with same type and dose of progestins. Significant suppression of LH response to LHRH stimulation ws observed in the agents containing 50 mcg of ethinyl estradiol or mestranol. No such suppression was noted in the product containing only 20 mcg of ethinyl estradiol. In comparing the different type of estrogenic or progestational components, no statistically significant differences in LH response were demonstrated. This finding suggests that it is not the individual component alone, but the combined action of estrogenic and progestational components which determines the potency of an oral contraceptive agent.
Accessory cervix: an unusual congenital malformation.
A woman with a septate vagina and two cervices was observed. One of the cervices ended blindly. The other cervix communicated with a normal corpus and two normally positioned patent fallopian tubes. Two explanations for the origin of this accessory cervix are offered: (1) that it originated from a fusion failure of the lower portions of the müllerian ducts, and (2) that it arose from the urogenital sinus.
Distribution of myocardial blood flow after left coronary occlusion.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Infected endometriotic cysts: clinical characterization and pathogenesis.
Although endometriotic cysts are common, the occurrence of infection in these lesions has not been reported. Of 510 consecutive endometriotic cysts diagnosed at New York University Medical Center between 1965 and 1979, eleven had pathologically confirmed evidence of infection. These patients were nulliparous and had a mean age of 34.7 years at time of diagnosis and without long histories of endometriosis or pelvic infection. All were anemic. Six patients underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and five patients were treated with conservative surgery. The morbidity of both groups was similar. The latter had a poor prognosis for fertility. Infected endometriotic cysts demonstrate a strong association with concomitant tubal infection and a weaker association with antecedent hysterosalpingography.
Serum relaxin and human chorionic gonadotropin concentrations in spontaneous abortions.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Relaxin secretion in the rhesus monkey.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
"Antisocial adolescents: our treatments do not work--where do we go from here?".
Explore the source record for details and available documents.