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Biomedical subjects

W Degen

Publications and source records attributed to W Degen.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

Immunohistochemical investigations of steroid receptors in normal and neoplastic squamous epithelium of the uterine cervix.

The proliferation of squamous cells of the vagina and cervix uteri is induced by steroid hormones during the menstrual cycle. However, carcinoma of the cervix cannot be influenced by any hormone therapy. Forty-four different cervical specimens (different days in the menstrual cycle of healthy women and those with dysplastic lesions and carcinomas of the cervix) have been tested for estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptor protein content by means of immunohistochemistry. The ER content of the squamous epithelium depends upon the menstrual cycle: in the early proliferative phase cells of all layers are negative. In the midphase of proliferation the basal and parabasal layers become positive, and in the secretory phase positive cell nuclei can be found up to the superficial layers. A weak reaction to ER staining is found only in mild dysplastic lesions of the uterine cervix; severe dysplastic forms and invasive carcinomas were all negative. No positive PR was found in any squamous cell tissue. Stroma cells of the uterine cervix showed different straining intensity for ER and PR, regardless of the menstrual cycle. The loss of ER in the neoplastic cell could be an explanation for three clinical experiences: premenopausal patients have no tumor progression of the cervix uteri despite normal ovarian function; the duration of survival shows no relation to the receptor status of cervical carcinomas; and antihormonal treatment of cervical carcinomas produces no appreciable therapeutic success.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

[Is there a correlation between the degree of proliferation of vaginal and urethral epithelium and the incidence of stress incontinence? A contribution to estrogen therapy in stress incontinence].

The extent of proliferation of the vaginal and urethral epithelium, as well as urodynamic parameters, were studied in 232 patients in order to determine whether there is a relation between the development of stress incontinence and hormone-related epithelial proliferation. A higher build-up of vaginal than of urethral epithelium was found in 74% of the patients. Even in post-menopause patients, epithelial atrophy in the vagina was only found in 29.3%, while in the urethra it was found in 61.3%. Therefore, the vaginal epithelium cannot with confidence be taken as a basis for conclusions concerning the condition of the urethral epithelium. In the group of 145 patients with urinary stress incontinence no link could be established between the extent of proliferation of the urethral epithelium, the urethral occlusion pressure and the functional length of the urethra: The occurrence of an age-related excessively low urethral occlusion pressure (hypotonic urethra) is independent of the extent of proliferation of the vaginal or urethral epithelium. Sedimentation phenomena are also seen equally frequently in cases with atrophic and eutrophic epithelium. Owing to the high percentage of overweight women among those with stress incontinence, the extent of proliferation of the vaginal and urethral epithelium often corresponds to premenopausal cell pictures even in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women; this is a consequence of increased estrogen production in the peripheral fatty tissue. Therefore, estrogen therapy is unsuccessful in women with pure urinary stress incontinence. However, the efficacy of an equivalent therapy, e.g., with estriol, has been confirmed in cases of active and combined incontinence.

Atrophy↗