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Biomedical subjects

M Brincat

Publications and source records attributed to M Brincat.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Long-term effects of the menopause and sex hormones on skin thickness.

Skin collagen content and skin thickness in a group of postmenopausal women who had been treated with sex hormone implants were compared with those in an untreated group of similar women. Both skin collagen content and thickness were found to be significantly greater in the treated than in the untreated group. In the untreated women skin collagen content declined in relation to menopausal age but not to chronological age. No correlation was found with menopausal age, chronological age or duration of therapy in the treated group. These data suggest that skin collagen is influenced by the sex hormone status and declines after the menopause, contributing to the increase in urinary hydroxyproline excretion that has been reported to occur at this time.

Collagen↗
PubMed1985

Serum dopamine beta-hydroxylase activity in menstrual migraine.

Migraine has been considered a manifestation of sympathetic dysfunction. Serum dopamine beta-hydroxylase (D beta H) has been shown to be an index of peripheral sympathetic activity by some workers and there are two reports of elevated activity of the enzyme during the migraine headache as well as in the headache-free interval. We studied the enzyme in seven women complaining of regular attacks of menstrual migraine and eleven controls during the mid-follicular (days 10 +/- 2) and premenstrual (days 28 +/- 2) phases of the menstrual cycle. Although levels were on average 26% and 10% higher respectively than in control subjects, the difference failed to reach statistical significance because of the large normal range for enzyme activity. However, the premenstrual results were significantly lower (p less than 0.001) than the mid-follicular measurements in the migraine group, little difference being found in controls. This finding, and the effects of successful therapy with anovulatory doses of oestradiol implants in not only significantly lowering serum D beta H but also significantly reducing the difference in enzymic activity between the early and late phases of the menstrual cycle, suggest that if this enzyme is an index of sympathetic activity, it is excessive fluctuations of the sympathetic nervous system that may be relevant in menstrual migraine.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Amenorrhea and endometrial atrophy with continuous oral estrogen and progestogen therapy in postmenopausal women.

An oral regimen of continuous conjugated equine estrogens (Premarin 0.625 or 1.25 mg daily) and low-dose progestogen (Norethisterone 0.35 to 2.1 mg daily) have been used to treat 95 nonhysterectomized postmenopausal women for up to 2.5 years. This method of hormone replacements was undertaken in an attempt to avoid the withdrawal bleeding and progestogenic side effects associated with conventional cyclical therapy with estrogen and progestogen, while simultaneously protecting the endometrium from estrogenic over-stimulation. With the lower dose of estrogen, amenorrhea was achieved immediately in 30 of 46 patients (65%), and after adjustments to the dose of the progestogen in all ten patients observed for at least one year (maximum 2.5 years). With the higher dose of estrogen, irregular spotting during the first three months resulted in the cessation of treatment by six of the 49 patients (12%), but 23 (47%) women had no bleeding during that time; by 15 months, all 13 patients who had remained in treatment had become amenorrheic (maximum 2.25 years). Endometrial biopsy specimens after six months of combined treatment in 56% of patients revealed atrophic histology regardless of the dose of the estrogen.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1985

Ageing and the skin.

Advances in our understanding of ageing in the skin mean that many of the undesirable stigmata of growing old may be delayed or prevented. This is important not merely for reasons of vanity but also because ageing in the skin is associated with the development of a variety of tumours.

Aging↗
PubMed1984

Subcutaneous hormone implants for the control of climacteric symptoms. A prospective study.

55 postmenopausal women on established hormone replacement therapy were treated with either oestradiol and testosterone implants or placebo at the time of return of climacteric symptoms. Their response to therapy was assessed prospectively. The statistically highly significant levels of symptom relief that followed an oestradiol and testosterone implant were contrasted sharply with the lack of any significant relief with placebo. Despite the success of oestradiol and testosterone implants in relieving symptoms of the climacteric, symptoms returned once the treatment was stopped. Evidence is presented that it is the fall in hormone levels rather than the level itself that provokes the return of climacteric symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Peripheral vasomotor control and menopausal flushing--a preliminary report.

Menopausal flushing can be considered as an intermittent loss of peripheral vasomotor control. Thermal entrainment testing has been used to assess the degree of peripheral vasomotor control in a preliminary study of seven women receiving oestrogen replacement therapy in the form of percutaneous cream. Significant improvement was demonstrated in the degree of control over a 3-month period in those patients who were symptomatically improved. We suggest that oestrogen exerts an influence on peripheral vasomotor control and flushes and sweats occur when this influence is removed.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1983

Sex hormones and skin collagen content in postmenopausal women.

Skin biopsy specimens were taken from 29 postmenopausal women who had not been given hormone replacement therapy and from 26 women who had been treated with oestrogen and testosterone implants for two to 10 years. The mean hydroxyproline content and therefore the mean collagen content in the skin was found to be 48% greater in the treated than the untreated women, who were matched for age. This difference was significant (p less than 0.01). The implication of this finding is that oestrogen or testosterone, or both, prevents the decrease in skin collagen content that occurs with aging and protects skin in the same way as it protects bone in postmenopausal women.

Adult↗