Background Gender equity in global health is a target of the Sustainable Development Goals and a requirement of just societies. Substantial progress has been made towards control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) via mass drug administration (MDA). However, little is known about whether MDA coverage is equitable. This study assesses the availability of gender-disaggregated data and whether systematic gender differences in MDA coverage exist. Methods Coverage data were analyzed for 4784 district-years in 16 countries from 2012 through 2016. The percentage of districts reporting gender-disaggregated data was calculated and male–female coverage compared. Results Reporting of gender-disaggregated coverage data improved from 32% of districts in 2012 to 90% in 2016. In 2016, median female coverage was 85.5% compared with 79.3% for males. Female coverage was higher than male coverage for all diseases. However, within-country differences exist, with 64 (3.3%) districts reporting male coverage >10 percentage points higher than female coverage. Conclusions Reporting of gender-disaggregated data is feasible. And NTD programs consistently achieve at least equal levels of coverage for women. Understanding gendered barriers to MDA for men and women remains a priority.

A prospective measurement of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and oestradiol between cycle days 2 and 5 was conducted to investigate the intra- and inter-cycle variability in a healthy population of women with regular menstrual intervals. Daily serum samples were obtained from 44 women for a total of 66 cycles on cycle days 2, 3, 4 and 5. FSH concentrations were consistent on all cycle days measured. Oestradiol concentrations on cycle day 2 were not different from cycle day 3, but concentrations on cycle day 4 and cycle day 5 were statistically different from both cycle day 2 and cycle day 3 by analysis of variance (P < or = 0.05). Evaluation of functional ovarian reserved by cycle day 3 FSH measurement has become the standard in most assisted reproductive technology programmes. The recent change in FSH standardization coupled with the inflexibility of cycle day 3 testing has led to a re-evaluation of testing protocols. Cycle day 3 appears to have emerged as a dictum because most ovulation induction protocols are initiated on cycle day 3, 4 or 5. Flexibility of sampling day can be introduced as suggested by these results. The additional information ascertained from oestradiol testing as applied to evaluation of ovarian reserve warrants further investigation.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), the major physiologic inhibitor of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), plays a crucial role in the regulation of fibrinolysis. Both hepatocytes and endothelial cells have been implicated as major sources of plasma PAI-1. To study the relative contribution of these cell types to hepatic PAI-1 production, we have separated hepatocytes and hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells by fractionation of freshly isolated rat livers using metrizamide density gradients and centrifugal elutriation. In untreated animals, PAI-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) was detected only in the purified endothelial cell fraction, and not in the hepatocyte fraction or in unfractionated liver. However, when the animals were treated with dexamethasone, PAI-1 mRNA expression was transiently induced in the liver. This induction paralleled the appearance of PAI-1 mRNA in purified hepatocytes, while PAI-1 expression in sinusoidal endothelial cells was unchanged. Four hours after dexamethasone treatment, plasma PAI-1 levels were increased approximately twofold over levels measured in animals treated with the diluent alone. These data suggest that PAI- 1 production by hepatocytes may contribute to elevated plasma PAI-1 levels in the setting of acute injury and stress.