Pathological endometrium morphology is very common in uraemic women of reproductive age undergoing haemodialysis, with proliferative changes in one-third and atrophia in almost a quarter of them. The results of the study suggest a preserved normal reactivity of endometrium on circulating oestrogens.

Objective: Total body and lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD-TB, BMD-L) and total body bone mineral content (BMC-TB) were measured to establish the course of bone demineralization in anorexia nervosa and the clinical factors in¯uencing BMC-TB and BMD changes during treatment. Method: Forty-two girls with DSM III-R anorexia nervosa, age 14.7t2.4 years. BMC-TB, BMD-TB and BMD-L were measured in approximately 7-month intervals for 27.8t4.1 months using DXA. Results: Despite nutritional improvement, there was an initial decrease of BMD-L, and no change in BMC-TB and BMD-TB. an increase in BMC-TB and BMD was observed after approx. 21 months from the beginning of the study.

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The organization of the hepatic microvascular network has been widely studied in recent years, especially with regard to cirrhosis. This research has enabled us to recognize the distinctive vascular patterns in the cirrhotic liver, compared with the normal liver, which may explain the cause of liver dysfunction and failure. The aim of this study was to compare normal and cirrhotic rat livers by means of a quantitative mathematical approach based on fractal and Fourier analyses performed on photomicrographs and therefore on discriminant analysis. Vascular corrosion casts of livers belonging to the following three experimental groups were studied by scanning electron microscopy: normal rats, CCl 4 -induced cirrhotic rats and cirrhotic rats after ligation of the bile duct. Photomicrographs were taken at a standard magnification; these images were used for the mathematical analysis. Our experimental design found that use of these different analyses reaches an efficiency of over 94%. Our analyses demonstrated a higher complexity of the normal hepatic sinusoidal network in comparison with the cirrhotic network. In particular, the morphological changes were more marked in the animals with bile duct-ligation cirrhosis compared with animals with CCl 4 -induced cirrhosis. The present findings based on fractal and Fourier analysis could increase our understanding of the pathophysiological alterations of the liver, and may have a diagnostic value in future clinical research.

Objectives-In old age, there are marked changes in both the structure of the liver sinusoidal endothelial cell and liver perfusion. The objective of this study was to determine whether there are also aging changes in the microvascular architecture and vascular dispersion of the liver that might influence liver function.Methods-Vascular corrosion casts and light micrographs of young (4 mths) and old (24 mths) rat livers were compared. Fractal and Fourier analyses, and microcomputed tomography were used. Vascular dispersion was determined from the dispersion number for sucrose and 100 nm microspheres in impulse response experiments.Results-Age did not affect sinusoidal dimensions, sinusoidal density or dispersion number. There were changes in the geometry and complexity of the sinusoidal network as determined by Fractal dimension and degree of anisotropy.Conclusions-There are small age-related changes in the architecture of the liver sinusoidal network, which may influence hepatic function and reflect broader aging changes in the microcirculation. However sinusoidal dimensions and hepatic vascular dispersion are not markedly influenced by old age.