Juan J. Arce

Serum testosterone concentrations in women throughout the menstrual cycle and following HCG administration.

Abstract Serum testosterone (T) concentrations, measured by a specific, precise, and sensitive radioimmunoassay in 40 women with apparently normal menstrual cycles averaged 34.6 ± 10.3 (S.D.) ng. per cent and ranged from 14 to 59 ng. per cent. Mean serum T concentrations, assayed daily in eight women throughout an entire ovulatory cycle, were highest around the midcycle LH peak and higher during the follicular than during the luteal phase of the cycles. Averages of daily serum T concentrations, when determined for each individual woman for the entire cycle, varied significantly among the eight subjects studied, ranging from 23.1 to 39.0 ng. per cent. Coefficients of variation of serum T levels in these eight individual cycles averaged 22 per cent. HCG administration to three of these eight women during the luteal phase of their subsequent cycle resulted in a significant rise of serum T concentrations in only one subject. These data indicate that mean serum T concentrations in normal women are subject to small but significant changes during the course of the menstrual cycle. Despite these cyclic changes, as well as day-to-day variations, serum T concentrations in normal women largely fall into a relatively narrow range. Repeated serum T concentrations which consistently exceed 55 ng. per cent (2 S.D. above the mean) may be regarded as documentation of androgen excess.

Antimicrobial effect of amniotic fluid against anaerobic bacteria

Amniotic fluid samples were obtained at term and tested for their antimicrobial effect on anaerobes, Peptostreptococcus (Ps.) anaerobius, Peptococcus (Pc.) prevotii, Bacteroides (B.) fragilis, and B. coagulans with facultative Escherichia (E.) coli serving as control. Amniotic fluid had only temporary bacteriostatic effect on Pc. prevotii and B. fragilis for 8 to 16 hours. This effect lasted for only 8 hours on Ps. anaerobius. On the contrary, the bacteriostatic effect of amniotic fluid was well sustained on E. coli and B. coagulans, lasting for the entire test periods of 20 and 32 hours, respectively. At the end of the time intervals mentioned, Ps. anaerobius, Pc. prevotii, and B. fragilis exhibited logarithmic growth, confirming the earlier reports that it is not nutritionally deficient. Amniotic fluid exhibited temporary bacteriostatic effect on Ps. anaerobius, P. prevotii, and B. fragilis, but this effect was well sustained against B. coagulans.

Hyperventilation during labor.

Abstract The effect of maternal hyperventilation during labor was studied in 20 patients. Fetal scalp blood samples were analyzed for pH, pO 2 , pCO 2 , and base excess and compared with maternal free-flowing venous blood samples taken at the same time. Samples were obtained for baseline values and repeated during and following a period of active hyperventilation. Both maternal and fetal pH rose with hyperventilation. No fetal acidosis was observed even in the 5 cases of severe maternal hypocarbia. Maternal pCO 2 during labor was low even prior to intentional hyperventilation. Both maternal and fetal pCO 2 decreased, the maternal change being greater than the fetal. There was a slight but statistically significant decrease in the fetal pO 2 during hyperventilation. However, fetal oxygen levels remained within physiologic range throughout the study.

Clinical experience with the amniotic fluid lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio: II. The L/S ratio in “stressed pregnancies”

Lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratios were measured in 81 amniotic fluid specimens obtained from 41 patients with “stressed pregnancies” as evidenced by chronically low (< 2 S.D.) 24 hour urinary estriol excretion. Fourteen of the patients studied also had a positive oxytocin challenge test. The results suggest that, on the average, fetal pulmonary maturity as evaluated by L/S ratios is not accelerated in “stressed pregnancies.”