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Biomedical subjects

U Gaspard

Publications and source records attributed to U Gaspard.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Immunopathological and clinical studies in herpes gestationis.

Herpes gestationis is a recurring pruritic, vesiculobullous disease of pregnancy and puerperium. Recently, Lawley et al (1979) reported a high frequency (38 per cent) of fetal morbidity and mortality in 40 cases of immunologically proven herpes gestationis. This study was undertaken to determine whether the antibody to skin basement membrane (found in most patients with herpes gestationis) is able to bind to the placenta basement membranes and thereby to threaten the pregnancy. We were unable to detect this antibody in the placental basement membranes of a patient with herpes gestationis, nor could we demonstrate that the anti-basement membrane antibody, found in the sera of herpes gestationis patients, binds to homologous or autologous placentas and fetal membranes. The importance of an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment of this condition is discussed.

Basement Membrane↗

[Maternal serum levels of chorionic gonadotropin and its alpha and beta free subunits as a function of the fetal sex. Preliminary study].

The maternal serum levels of hCG and its alpha or beta subunits were measured in 96 normal pregnancies and correlated with the fetal sex. During the first 20 weeks (69 cases), the maternal serum levels of hCG, of its alpha subunit and particularly of its beta subunit were higher in cases of female fetuses. However no statistically significant difference was observed between the levels of hCG or its subunits in serum of pregnancies with male or female fetuses. During the second half of pregnancy, the serum hCG levels were discretely higher in cases with female fetuses (no significant difference) and the serum levels of its alpha or beta subunits were identical in cases of male of female fetuses.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗

Relationship of mastodynia with its endocrine environment and treatment in a double blind trial with lynestrenol.

Serum analysis carried out about 7 days before menstruation in 33 patients with mastodynia and 20 controls confirmed that progesterone is frequently decreased and prolactinaemia increased in the patients with mastodynia compared with controls of the same age. In a double blind trial, administration of Lynestrenol to 47 patients with mastodynia (each of whom was given 10 mg per day from the 10th to the 24th day of the cycle) resulted in a significant improvement of this condition in 80% of the treated cases. The therapeutic failures may be explained by anomalies in the secretion of prolactin, and may possibly be linked to individual sensitivity factors.

Adult↗

Influence of elevated plasma free fatty acids on the glucagon response to hypoglycemia in normal and in pregnant women.

We investigated the influence of an insulin-induced hypoglycemia on plasma glucagon in nonpregnant healthy young women and in women during the last month of gestation. Both groups were tested either in the basal state or during a period where free fatty acid plasma levels were increased by infusion of a lipid emulsion supplemented with heparin. Regular insulin was injected intravenously at the dose of 0.1 U/kg body wt in controls and 0.3 U/kg in pregnant women in order to obtain a similar lowering of blood glucose in all groups. In controls, the increase in plasma glucagon was maximum 30 and 45 min after insulin injection and averaged 130 pg/ml; the infusion of triglycerides and heparin which raised plasma FFA to about 1300 muEq/liter decreased basal plasma glucagon levels and reduced, by about 70%, the glucagon response to hypoglycemia. During the last month of pregnancy, the glucagon response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia was reduced by 60% (mean maximal increase 52 pg/ml); furthermore, raising plasma FFA to about 1500 muEq/liter completely abolished the glucagon rise induced by the insulin hypoglycemia. These results support the view that the glucagon release from A-cells can be modulated by the level of circulating plasma FFA.

Adolescent↗

Estrogens delay the postpartum recovery of the LH-RH-induced gonadotropin release.

In 27 healthy postpartum women, who were neither lactating nor receiving any therapy, LH-RH stimulation tests (50 micrograms i.v.) were performed on days 7, 14, 21 and 28 of the puerperium. In a second group of 9 postpartum women an i.m. injection of 10 mg estradiol valerianate was administered within the 3rd postpartum day, and an LH-RH stimulation test was performed on days 14 and 21 of the puerperium. Blood was withdrawn at standard intervals and LH and FSH measured by radioimmunoassay. No significant FSH and LH response was found on day 7. On day 14 there was a significant release of FSH but no LH was released. On days 21 and 28 there was a significant release of FSH and LH but the magnitude of the FSH response was greater than that of the LH release. The administration of estrogens did inhibit the recovery of the pituitary from its refractoriness: on day 14 no release of LH and FSH was observed; on day 21, only a significant release of FSH could be detected in the second group of postpartum women. This emphasizes the major role played by steroids in the regulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal function.

Estradiol↗