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Between 1910 and 1940, 146 young females, aged 15-30 years, underwent bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy as part of a radical operation for salpingo-oophoritis. These women or their records were reviewed in 1971. 42 women had died in the meantime. More than half (22) of them had died from cardiovascular diseases, 5 from carcinoma of the uterus and 4 had committed suicide. None had died from carcinoma of the breast. Of 68 who were still alive, information by questionnaire was obtained and 32 were admitted to hospital for extensive examination. 32 age-matched women to be operated on for prolapse but with no other known disease of the reproductive tract served as controls. A further control group was added as 11 of the 68 were found to have menstruated again after the operation which had evidently not completely removed the gonads. Complete oophorectomy was found to have been followed by: (a) an increased incidence of cardiac symptoms and nervous diseases as well as an increased use of drugs; (b) a significant increase in the frequency of coronary vascular diseases in ages up to 70 years; (c) an increase in the serum cholesterol and triglycerides, most significantly in the ages below 60-65 years. Women with symptomatic coronary disease had a higher serum cholesterol level than women without and women with signs of peripheral vascular diseases had a significantly higher concentration of serum triglycerides: (d) an increased frequency of fractures (radius and femoral neck), increased osteoporosis and thinner cortical bone. The brittleness of the skeleton was correlated with low excretion of oestrogens in the urine. No vertebral compression or abnormal decrease in height was observed, (e) an increased adrenocortical activity with significantly increased excretion of 17-ketosteroids, 17-OH-ketosteroids and low polar total oestrogens. This activity abated in women above 65 years. (f) a traumatic psychological experience of the accompanying sterility while sexuality seemed to be largely unaffected in many of them. Almost half of the women examined by the psychiatrist were unusually mentally active and agile and they had a lower excretion of estriol than the rest.

In a randomized, single-blind study, of a pilot nature, the administration of terbutaline sulphate was found to cause significant inhibition of contractions in premature labor. This effect became evident within 30 min when the dosage was 0.1 mg in 1 ml cellulose gel, applied vaginally, and within 2 h when released from a 5-g medicated vaginal polymer ring containing 10% terbutaline sulphate. No generalized effects of the terbutaline were noted (such as increased blood pressure or tachycardia) and the level of terbutaline in peripheral venous blood remained low. Vaginally administered terbutaline can obviously be quickly resorbed, giving a localized effect. Thus applied, terbutaline would appear to offer a number of advantages as regards treatment procedure.

Islet autoantibodies are early markers for Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to establish whether islet autoantibodies were present at birth in children who developed Type I diabetes before 15 years of age. Cord blood sera from 81 children who developed Type I diabetes between 10 months and 14.9 years of age were tested for glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies (GAD65Ab), islet cell antigen 512 autoantibodies (ICA512Ab), insulin autoantibodies (IAA) all by quantitative radioligand binding assays and islet cell autoantibodies (ICA) by indirect immunofluorescence. Cord blood sera from 320 randomly selected matched children were controls. The children who developed Type I diabetes had an increased frequency of cord blood islet autoantibodies compared with control subjects: Glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies were detected in 6 % (5/81) patients and 2 % (5/320) control subjects (p= 0.03); islet cell antigen 512 autoantibodies in 5 % (4/73) patients and 1 % (4/288) control subjects (p= 0.06); insulin autoantibodies (IAA) in 0 % (0/79) patients and 0.3 % (1/320) control subjects (p= 0.36); and islet cell autoantibodies in 10 % (8/81) patients compared with 0.6 % (2/320) control subjects (p= 0.0001). Taken together, 17 % (14/81) patients had one or more islet autoantibody compared with 4 % (12/320) control subjects (p= 0.0001). Whereas none of the control children had more than one antibody, 4 % (3/81) children who later developed Type I diabetes were double positive (p= 0.002). Although glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies' concentrations in cordblood correlated to those in the mothers' blood at the time of delivery, no corresponding correlation was found for the other two types of autoantibodies. The increased frequency of cord blood islet autoantibodies suggests that the Type I diabetes process could already be initiated in utero. [Diabetologia (1999) 42: 181–187]Islet autoantibodies are early markers for Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to establish whether islet autoantibodies were present at birth in children who developed Type I diabetes before 15 years of age. Cord blood sera from 81 children who developed Type I diabetes between 10 months and 14.9 years of age were tested for glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies (GAD65Ab), islet cell antigen 512 autoantibodies (ICA512Ab), insulin autoantibodies (IAA) all by quantitative radioligand binding assays and islet cell autoantibodies (ICA) by indirect immunofluorescence. Cord blood sera from 320 randomly selected matched children were controls. The children who developed Type I diabetes had an increased frequency of cord blood islet autoantibodies compared with control subjects: Glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies were detected in 6 % (5/81) patients and 2 % (5/320) control subjects (p= 0.03); islet cell antigen 512 autoantibodies in 5 % (4/73) patients and 1 % (4/288) control subjects (p= 0.06); insulin autoantibodies (IAA) in 0 % (0/79) patients and 0.3 % (1/320) control subjects (p= 0.36); and islet cell autoantibodies in 10 % (8/81) patients compared with 0.6 % (2/320) control subjects (p= 0.0001). Taken together, 17 % (14/81) patients had one or more islet autoantibody compared with 4 % (12/320) control subjects (p= 0.0001). Whereas none of the control children had more than one antibody, 4 % (3/81) children who later developed Type I diabetes were double positive (p= 0.002). Although glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies' concentrations in cordblood correlated to those in the mothers' blood at the time of delivery, no corresponding correlation was found for the other two types of autoantibodies. The increased frequency of cord blood islet autoantibodies suggests that the Type I diabetes process could already be initiated in utero. [Diabetologia (1999) 42: 181–187]

In a double-blind cross-over study the effect of terbutaline spray (Bricanyl aerosolR) inhalations was tested in 14 women with severe dysmenorrhea.A significant relief was noted in association with an increased menstrual blood loss. The side effects were few.

In a population-based setting, we traced serum samples collected at time of birth from 55 mothers whose children later developed insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) and matched them pairwise to control subjects who gave birth at the same hospital during the same month. The sera were analysed for IgM antibodies to coxsackie B virus serotypes 2, 3 and 4 (CBV-2, 3 and 4) using a type-specific Μ-antibody-capture radioimmunoassay. Despite a decreased power due to the close matching by time of birth we found a significantly higher frequency of CBV-3 IgM at delivery in mothers whose children later became diabetic compared to their matched control subjects. When using the presence of CBV-3 IgM as a risk factor the Mantel-Haenszel odds ratio estimate (95% confidence limits) was 2.57 (1.02; 7.31), p=0.043. For CBV-2 and CBV-4, respectively no significant difference was found between mothers of patients and control subjects. According to the odds ratio estimate for CBV-3 and the proportion of exposed mothers among patients estimated in this study the aetiological fraction for this risk determinant would be 27%. In conclusion, this study indicates that children of mothers who expressed CBV IgM at delivery are at increased risk for developing childhood onset IDDM. A fetal infection with CBV similar to rubella virus may initiate autoimmunity or cause persistent infection that may lead to progressive beta-cell destruction.

Kassabach & Merritt in 1940 first described hem-angioma associated with thrombocytopenia and bleeding tendency. This was followed by several case reports, in which most of the tumors were localized to the extremities. Evidence of consumption coagulo-pathy and also enhanced fibrinolytic activity with release of plasminogen activator has been presented (1, 2).

In the medium of endometrial carcinoma cultures, anti-urokinase-reacting plasminogen activator was released in contrast to cultures of normal or hyperplastic endometrium.