To determine if exclusive breastfeeding protects against postpartum relapses of multiple sclerosis (MS) and, if so, whether this protection is related to prolonged lactational amenorrhea.Design: We conducted structured interviews to assess clinical, menstrual, and breastfeeding history during each trimester and 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months postpartum and collected neurological examination findings from the treating physicians of women with MS. Hazards ratios (HRs) were adjusted for measures of disease severity and age.
Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has been found to be expressed in the tumor-associated neovasculature of multiple solid tumor types including breast cancers. However, thus far, the number of cases studied from some tumor types has been limited. In this study, we set out to assess PSMA expression in the tumor-associated vasculature associated with invasive breast carcinomas in a sizable cohort of patients. One hundred and six patients with AJCC stage 0-IV breast cancer were identified. Ninety-two of these patients had primary breast cancer [invasive breast carcinoma with or without co-existing ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (74) or DCIS alone (18)]. In addition, 14 patients with breast cancer metastases to the brain were identified. Immunohistochemical staining for PSMA and CD31 was performed on parallel representative tumor sections in each case. Tumor-associated vascular endothelial cell PSMA immunoreactivity was semi-quantitatively assessed based on two parameters: overall percent of endothelial positivity and staining intensity. PSMA expression for tumor-associated vascular endothelial cells was scored 0 if there was no detectable PSMA expression, 1 if PSMA staining was detectable in 5-50%, and 2 if PSMA expression was positive in >50% of microvessels. CD 31 staining was concurrently reviewed to confirm the presence of vasculature in each case. Tumor-associated vasculature was PSMA-positive in 68/92 (74%) of primary breast cancers and in 14/14 (100%) of breast cancers metastatic to brain. PSMA was not detected in normal breast tissue or carcinoma cells. All but 2 cases (98%) showed absence of PSMA expression in normal breast tissue-associated vasculature. The 10-year overall survival was 88.7% (95% CI = 80.0%, 93.8%) in patients without brain metastases. When overall survival (OS) was stratified based on PSMA score group, patients with PSMA scores of 0, 1, and 2 had 10-year OS of 95.8%, 96.0%, and 79.7%, respectively (p = 0.12). When PSMA scores of 0 and 1 were compared with 2, there was a statistically significant difference in OS (96.0% vs 79.7%, respectively, p = 0.05). Patients with a PSMA score of 2 had a significantly higher median tumor size compared with patients in the lower PSMA score groups (p = 0.04). Patients with higher nuclear grade were more likely to have a PSMA score of 2 compared with patients with lower nuclear grade (p < 0.0001). Patients with a PSMA score of 2 had a significantly higher median Ki-67 proliferation index compared with patients in the lower PSMA score groups (p < 0.0001). Patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-negative tumors were more likely to have a PSMA score of 2 compared with patients with ER-positive tumors (p < 0.0001). Patients with progesterone receptor (PR)-negative tumors were more likely to have a PSMA score of 2 compared with patients with PR-positive tumors (p = 0.03). No significant association was observed between PSMA score group status and lymph node involvement (p = 0.95). Too little variability was present in Human epidermal growth factor recept...
Microsurgical varicocelectomy resulted in significant increases in sperm concentration, total sperm count and testosterone in all age groups studied, including men in the fifth and sixth decades of life. Microsurgical varicocelectomy should be offered to older men for infertility and/or hypogonadism.
The risk of decision regret following EOC is non-negligible. Low number of mature oocytes cryopreserved is a risk factor for increased regret, while perceptions of adequate information and emotional support, and increased patient-estimates of achieving a live birth using banked eggs are associated with reduced risk of regret.
To determine whether fluctuations in functional T-cell subsets can explain why multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses decline during pregnancy and increase in the postpartum period.
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