Pekka Virkkunen

OVULATION INHIBITION BY A NEW LOW-DOSE PROGESTAGEN

n A new synthetic progestagen, Org 2969 (13-ethyl-11-methylene-18,19-dinor-17alpha-pregn-4-en-20-yn-17-ol) was administered to 9 healthy normally menstruating women. 3 subjects (Group 1) ingested .030 mg, while 6 (Group 2) ingested .015 mg of the compound daily on Days 1-20 of 1 menstrual cycle. The previous menstrual cycle served as control. Serum follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, progesterone, and estradiol analyzed on the Days 8-23 showed that all the treatment cycles of Group 1 were anovulatory and 2 subjects from Group 2 had ovulatory cycles. Serum activities of aspartase amino transferase, alanine amino transferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, and bilirubin concentration determined on Days 8, 15, and 23 did not reveal any change in liver function. Serum cortisol measured on Days 8 and 23 remain unchanged. 1 subject from Group 1 and 3 from Group 2 experienced bleeding irregularities.n

Ultrasonography of the axilla in the follow-up of breast cancer patients who have a negative sentinel node biopsy and who avoid axillary clearance

The clinical value of ultrasonography of the axilla in detection of breast cancer recurrence is not known among patients who have a negative sentinel node biopsy and avoid axillary clearance. We studied a cohort of 205 such patients using ultrasonography one and three years after breast surgery. A recurrent tumour was found in the axilla in only two (0.5%) of the total of 383 ultrasound examinations performed during the study, and only one (0.3%) of the 369 examinations performed at the scheduled study visits revealed cancer. None of the ultrasound examinations was false positive, and no study participant was subjected to unnecessary surgery due to ultrasound monitoring. We conclude that the rate of breast cancer recurrence in the ipsilateral axilla is low following sparing of the axillary contents, and that monitoring of such patients with repeated ultrasound examinations is unlikely to be cost-effective.

The Effect of Pertinent and Non-Pertinent Stimuli on the Secretions of Thyrotropin and Corticotropin

The authors wished to test the extent to which TSH, ACTH or both, are secreted by pituitary cells during the stress of acute exposure to cold. Differences in secretion were found between rat and rabbit.

Observations on the behavior of barium sulfate contrast media in vitro.

The double contrast method in the examination of the stomach has made possible the radiologic diagnosis of the surface lesions of the mucosa, eg, erosions and early gastric cancer. Changes in the patterns of areae gastricae can be visualized with a good contrast medium. We used a new, more physiologic in vitro method to compare contrast media and study the amounts of adsorption, the degrees of visualization of areae gastricae, and the effects of antifoam solution and blood on media adsorption. EZ-HD surpassed other contrast media on the Scandinavian market in total adsorption on the mucosa and the visualization of areae gastricae. Blood significantly reduces the adsorption of all media, while antifoaming agents have little or no effect.

A new method for studying barium sulphate contrast media in vitro. Some factors contributing to the visualization of areae gastricae

We have developed a new method for quantifying the adsorption of contrast media in vitro onto the gastric mucosa, and the visibility of the areae gastricae objectively, using the pigs stomach. The method simulates the situation in vivo, it has a small intra-assay variability, and it can easily be repeated. We have compared the adsorption of the contrast media manufactured for double contrast examination, the visualization of areae gastricae and the influence of the density of the medium on these factors. It is important to obtain a thin layer of the medium on the surface of the mucosa, and this layer must be dense enough to absorb radiation well. These conditions were fulfilled by only one of the examined media.

Visualization of the area gastricae in double-contrast examination

The dimensions of the adsorption of barium contrast media on the gastric mucosa — the thickness of the layer and its optic density — have been measured in vitro. Their relations to the density and viscosity of 5 commercially available barium sulfate contrast media have been examined. From these grounds the visualization of areae gastricae is quantitatively explained.

EFFECTS OF A NEW ORAL PROGESTAGEN ON PITUITARY-OVARIAN FUNCTION

Abstract A new progestagen, Org 3236 (13-ethyl-11-methylene-18, 19-dinor-17α--pregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one), which is a 3-keto derivative of another new progestagen, Org 2969 (13-ethyl-11-methylene-18,19-dinor-17α-pregn-4--en-20-yn) was administered to seven healthy female volunteers in doses 0.025 mg/day (3 volunteers) and 0.050 mg/day (4 volunteers) to evaluate its biological properties. The function of the hypophyseal-ovarian axis was tested by measuring serum follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, estradiol and progesterone daily on days 7–23 of two consecutive cycles, of which the first served as a control. Org 3236 was given on days 1–21 during the second menstrual cycle. The results revealed that ovulation was inhibited in 3 out of 4 volunteers with the 0.050 mg daily dose. Also in the fourth volunteer the occurrence of ovulation is questionable. In the group with a daily dose of 0.025 mg two of the three volunteers had anovulatory treatment cycles. The ovulation inhibiting activity of Org 3236 is comparable to that reported for Org 2969.