Bruno Bercovici

Premature delivery and organochlorine compounds: polychlorinated biphenyls and some organochlorine insecticides.

Abstract Some organochlorine compounds (OCC), DDT and metabolites, γ-HCH, dieldrin, heptachlor epoxide and polychlorinated biphenyls were assessed in the serum of 17 women with premature delivery (PD) and 10 women with normal, third-trimester pregnancy. Out of 17 cases of PD, 8 cases were associated with high PCB serum levels (128.0 ppb versus 19.25 ppb in the control group), and 5 cases with high DDT serum levels (119.6 ppb versus 26.5 ppb in the control group). Two of the cases with high PCB serum levels also had high total DDT serum levels. The 5 cases with high total DDT serum levels also had high γ-HCH and heptachlor epoxide serum levels and 4 out of these 5 cases also had high dieldrin serum levels. The higher chlorinated PCB isomers constituted a higher percentage of total PCBs in the study group in comparison with the control group (about 30% versus 8.94%). At the same time, the percentage of total o,p ′-DDT was unusually high (50% of total DDT in the study group versus 30% in the control group[tiThe possible role of the relatively high serum levels of the organochlorine compounds assessed in this study, in the occurrence of PD, is discussed.

Antibacterial activity of human amniotic fluid

Abstract Amniotic fluid samples from 25 of 28 women examined were found to possess antibacterial activity. This activity was directed against both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms and appeared to be related to the presence of varying combinations of different antibacterial factors. Lysozyme-like activity was present in only 9 of 24 fluid samples. Other factors differed in their heat stability and molecular weights.

Photoplethysmographic study of the vaginal blood pulse

Abstract The pulse in the upper vaginal blood vessels was recorded by means of a photoelectric cell assembly fitted into a vaginal speculum. In normally ovulating women, cyclic changes were found in the pulse height and shape. The pulse amplitude exhibited 2 peaks: one around ovulation time and the other around the twenty-first day of the cycle. Similar changes were found when various other parameters of the pulse shape were measured and plotted. against the day of the cycle. These curves parallel the curve of the variations of the urinary estrogen excretion during the cycle. Cyclic changes were also found in the digital pulse amplitude of the same women, but not in any of the other parameters of the digital pulse shape. The vaginal pulse of oligomenorrheic, amenorrheic, and climacteric women was usually found to be very small.

Studies on the antimicrobial activity of amniotic fluid

Sixty-one amniotic fluid samples from women in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy were examined for antimicrobial activity. Seventy per cent of the fluids were found to be active. The factor or factors responsible for this activity were present in low concentrations. The presence of spermine in the fluids accounted for some of the antimicrobial activity.

Mycoplasma (pleuropneumonia-like organisms) in vaginitis

Abstract 1. 1. The vaginal secretion from 248 women suffering from vaginitis and 45 healthy controls was examined for the presence of Mycoplasma (pleuropneumonia-like organisms). Mycoplasma hominis was found in 59 per cent of women suffering from Trichomonas vaginitis, in 35 per cent of women suffering from nonspecific vaginitis, and in 22 per cent of women suffering from mycotic vaginitis. In only 7 per cent of the controls was Mycoplasma found. 2. 2. The incidence of Mycoplasma increased with the rising pH of the vagina. 3. 3. All strains of Mycoplasma examined were found to be sensitive to tetracyclines and chloramphenicol. 4. 4. Antibodies to Mycoplasma were found in 35 per cent of women infected with Mycoplasma and in 8 per cent of women from whom Mycoplasma was not isolated. 5. 5. Elimination of Mycoplasma in women with Trichomonas vaginitis did not improve the inflammatory condition. Elimination of Mycoplasma in a small series of women suffering from nonspecific vaginitis brought about amelioration in most cases.

Storage of some organochlorine compounds in toxemia of pregnancy

Abstract Nine out of 18 cases of toxemia of pregnancy had high PCB serum levels in comparison with a control group of 12 women with normal pregnancies. Seven out of the nine high PCB levels cases were multiparae. These findings suggest a role of PCBs in the promotion of toxemia of pregnancy, possibly by depressing the maternal immunological response to fetal antigens. The pattern of the gas chromatogram of PCBs differed in the control and in the low PCB levels toxemia groups, due possibly to differences in some hormonal and/or enzymatic activities. In the high PCB levels toxemia cases, the chromatograms showed high peaks at 8. This fact adds to the quantitative dimension a qualitative one. The DDT DDE ratios were lowest in the high PCB levels toxemia group suggesting an increased degradation of DDT to DDE and/or a decreased excretion of DDE.

The effects of estrogens on cytology and vascularization of the vaginal epithelium in climacteric women

To correlate the effects of estogenic hormones on the vaginal pulse of postmenopausal women with changes in vaginal cytology, photoelectric plethysmography and vaginal smears were studied in women who received oral and local application of estrogen. Periodic variations in pulse amplitude in the control group were small compared with both estrogen treated groups. In women who received systemic estrogen, most showed an increase of both pulse height and epithelial maturation value. All the women given local estrogen treatments showed an increase in epithelial maturation values. Most also showed vaginal pulse increases. Pulse and maturation values returned to their original values within 6 weeks. Since the temporal relationship between cytologic and pulse changes is not known, the question of whether the primary effect of estrogen is vascular or cytologic is not answered.

Comparison between uterine, upper vaginal, lower vaginal, and digital pulse

Abstract The pulse wave was measured photoelectrically in the mucosa of the upper and lower thirds of the vagina, uterus, and the digital skin. A comparison of the shapes of these pulses revealed that the lower vaginal pulse usually resembled the digital pulse, while the pulse recorded in upper vagina more closely resembled the uterine pulse. Ergot was found to diminish the amplitude of the uterine pulse.

Sebum Measurements for Rapid Identification of Hyperandrogenism Due to an Ovarian Leydig Cell Tumor

Direct measurements of sebum with the Sebumeter were used in a patient with a benign androgen‐producing tumor of the ovary. Androgen levels fell immediately after surgery whereas the markedly elevated sebum levels found preoperatively dropped to normal after a delay of more than 2 weeks. Therefore, the Subumeter, due to its simplicity, may useful for the preliminary screening and follow‐up of patients with hyperandrogenic states.

Lipid Cell Tumor of the Ovary: Steroid Hormone Secretory Pattern and Localization Using 75Se-Selenomethylcholesterol

Ovarian lipid cell tumors are rare and can be difficult to localize by conventional means. We report a postmenopausal patient where rapid progression of symptoms and very high sebum levels suggested the presence of such a tumor which could not be visualized by computed tomography or ultrasound. Localization was accomplished noninvasively using 75Se-selenomethylcholesterol. Peripheral and ovarian vein steroid concentrations suggest that the tumor produced androgens preferentially by way of the delta 4 steroidogenesis pathway.