Background:Oral contraceptive therapy (OCT) is associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis, venous thromboembolism and stroke. However, the underlying mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of OCT on blood levels of an oxidative stress maker in pre-menopausal women.Methods:Oxidative stress was determined in 87 pre-menopausal healthy women (24 with and 63 without OCT) using a blood assay for reactive oxygen metabolites (by the d-ROMs test). The subjects with OCT received a triphasic preparation consisting of ethinyl estradiol and norethisterone.Results:Subjects with OCT showed significantly higher d-ROMs levels (median: 380; interquartile range: 328-502 Carr U) than those without OCT (325 [271-369]; P < 0.05). The results remained the same after adjusting for potential confounders.Conclusions:The use of OCT may increase oxidative stress levels, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, in pre-menopausal women, providing new insights to the primary prevention of vascular complications in these subjects.

We investigated the influence of the combined use of sizofiran, a beta-1,3-glucan and a recombinant interferon-gamma (rIFN-gamma) upon biological activities of peritoneal macrophages (M phi). The number of peritoneal M phi and the production of cytokines (interleukin-1 beta, interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor) was increased by the combined treatment. Fully activated peritoneal M phi based on the increased number of elongated pseudopods were observed by electromicroscope. Sizofiran seems to assure a sufficient supply of M phi to kill tumor cells in the peritoneal cavity and co-administered rIFN-gamma seems to directly stimulate the accumulated M phi in addition to its direct cytotoxicity against tumor cells. This combination therapy may be a step to the prevention of the recurrence of gynecological malignancies including ovarian cancer, after a negative second-look laparotomy.

Abstract.To evaluate the effects of 1a-hydroxyvitamin D3 (la(OH)D3), a series of clinical trials, preventive and therapeutic, were performed in an open label manner in women immediately after oophorectomy. The series included a total of 121 oophorectomized subjects, whose lumbar bone mineral density (L2~BMD) was followed by the use of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.(1) Preventive trial: 61 women who had undergone premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy, were divided into 3 groups (Group C: control; Group L: 0.254ug 1a(OH)D3/day; Group H: 0.50-0.75µg 1a(OH)D3/day).The changes in BMD and chemical indices were followed up for one year. (2) Therapeutic trial: the trial included 60 premenopausally oophorectomized subjects having L2IBMD lower than the normal control level minus 1SD which has been reported in age-matched normal Japanese women. These subjects were divided into 3 groups and treated in the same way as in the preventive trial. In the preventive trial, L2~BMD decreased by 8.2%, 6.5% and 4.5% in groups C, L and H, respectively, at 12 months of treatment, whereas in the therapeutic trial, L2.4BMD decreased by 3.6%, 3.2% and 0.8% in the groups C, L and H, respectively, at 12 months of treatment. In conclusion, la(OH)D3 was found to be effective both to prevent the bone loss subsequent to bilateral oophorectomy and improve low bone mass after oophorectomy.