OBJECTIVES: To investigate the role of sex-hormonal changes in idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) among post-menopausal women through measuring estrogen receptor (ER) expression in their transverse carpal ligament (TCL) and serum estrogen level, as well as determine the correlation between these factors and electrodiagnostic parameters and Boston score. METHODS: Biopsy samples of TCL were collected from 12 postmenopausal women who had undergone surgery for severe idiopathic CTS; control specimens were collected from 10 postmenopausal women without CTS who had undergone surgery for the other hand pathologies. To determine the distributions of ER in TCL, histological and immunohistochemical examinations were performed. Serum estrogen level was also measured. Electrodiagnosis and Boston questionnaire were used for CTS severity and determination of the patients' function. RESULTS: ER expression in TCL and serum estrogen level were not significantly different in the case group compared to the control group (P = 0.79 and P = 0.88, respectively). Also, there was no correlation between ER expression or serum estrogen level and electrodiagnostic parameters or Boston score. CONCLUSIONS: Sex hormones cannot still be considered as the etiology of idiopathic CTS in postmenopausal women. The role of other factors such as wrist ratio and narrower outlet in females compared to the males should be considered along with hormonal changes.
Biopsy ; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome* ; Electrodiagnosis ; Estrogens ; Female* ; Gonadal Steroid Hormones* ; Hand ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Male ; Pathology ; Wrist

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to describe the levels of chemerin, irisin and apolipoprotein M (apoM) in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. METHODS: The study included 88 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Based on World Health Organization criteria, women with a T-score of ≤–2.5 were defined as osteoporotic. In this case-control study, postmenopausal women with T-score >–1 were selected as controls (n = 88) and case-matched in a 1:1 ratio based on age (within 2 years) and body mass index (BMI) (within 1.0 kg/m2). ApoM, irisin and chemerin levels were determined by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, BMI, parity, cholesterol and apoM levels between the two groups. C-reactive protein levels were significantly increased in women with osteoporosis. Serum chemerin levels (240.1 ± 46.1 vs. 261.5 ± 50.8 ng/mL) were significantly lower in the women with osteoporosis, as compared to the controls (P = 0.004). Serum irisin levels were also decreased in women with osteoporosis (0.7 ± 0.2 vs. 0.8 ± 0.2 ng/mL; P = 0.007). CONCLUSION: In the present study, osteoporosis was associated with decreased levels of circulating chemerin and irisin. These findings suggested that adipokines might play a role in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis.
Adipokines ; Apolipoproteins* ; Body Mass Index ; C-Reactive Protein ; Case-Control Studies ; Cholesterol ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Osteoporosis ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal* ; Parity ; World Health Organization

The incidence of postmenopausal diseases increases with the age of women. In this review, we introduce cell therapy products, a new treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis, which often occurs in postmenopausal women. We also figure out the trends of research on cell therapy products and emphasize the necessity and importance of this research for researchers and postmenopausal women. Finally, we suggest the direction for improvement of postmenopausal osteoporosis and research on cell therapy products. We investigated which medication have been used so far. We also examined the development and technical problems of technologies that are currently in use.
Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy* ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Menopause ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal ; Stem Cells

Cervical cancer is the third most prevalent cancer in women around the world. Recently in Korea, the incidence of cervical cancer has decreased, but in all stages of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), CIN has shown a 91% increase from 1999 to 2008. Persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been found to be the main cause of cervical cancer. HPV types 16 and 18 have been found in 70% of cervical cancer patients around the world. Cervical cancer screening such as cytology has limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity. A discussion about the need for the HPV test is becoming active in order to compensate for the limitation of cytology. After the role of HPV in cervical cancer was identified, the importance of HPV detection test as a screening was emphasized. Several tests have been developed and each test has its own advantages and disadvantages, and new test method to overcome the disadvantages is still being developed. Today's guidelines and tests are those you would choose from among the large number of cervical cancer screening guidelines and tests, based on the consideration that the selected guidelines and the test are effective.
Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Female ; Humans* ; Incidence ; Korea ; Mass Screening* ; Methods ; Papillomaviridae ; Perimenopause* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

Menopause is a critical stage of women's life associated with various complaints and distresses. Vasomotor symptoms (VMS), such as hot flushes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, and fatigue, are the most common menopause symptoms affecting about 50% to 80% of middle-aged women. Obviously, these symptoms, resulting from estrogen deficiency during menopause, can exert negative effects on women's health and quality of life and thus require to be managed through approaches such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Many herbal treatments for menopause symptoms contain and its components such as 8-prenylnaringenin, 6-PN, isoxanthohumol and xanthohumol. Recent in-vivo studies have highlighted the ability of 8-prenylnaringenin to reduce serum-luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), to increase serum prolactin levels and uterine weight, and to induce vaginal hyperplastic epithelium. Previous research has shown that hops extract can strongly bind to both estrogen receptors, stimulate alkaline phosphatase activity in Ishikawa cells, and upregulate presenelin-2 and progesterone receptor mRNA in Ishikawa cells. Numerous clinical trials have documented significant reductions in the frequency of hot flushes following the administration of hop-containing preparations. Nevertheless, further clinical trials with larger sample size and longer follow-up are warranted to confirm such benefits.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Epithelium ; Estrogens ; Fatigue ; Female ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hormone Replacement Therapy ; Hot Flashes ; Humans ; Humulus* ; Menopause ; Prolactin ; Quality of Life ; Receptors, Estrogen ; Receptors, Progesterone ; RNA, Messenger ; Sample Size ; Sweat ; Women's Health

No abstract available.
Leiomyoma* ; Treatment Outcome*

No abstract available.
Mongolia*

Leiomyomas are very common benign tumors in the uterus and it is rare condition to present the retroperitoneal leiomyoma. The author reported a 48-year-old female patient who presented right pelvic mass with urinary incontinence and lower abdominal discomfort. Based on the preoperative imaging, provisional diagnosis was mesenchymal sarcoma. In the intraoperative findings, huge mass abutting to the uterus was observed in retroperitoneal space beneath the right broad ligament. After the exposure the retroperitoneal space, we encountered the well-demarcated tumor measuring 8 x 6 cm in diameter and this tumor attached the right surface of the uterus with fibrotic tissue. Pathologic findings demonstrated retroperitoneal uterine leiomyoma.
Broad Ligament ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Leiomyoma* ; Middle Aged ; Retroperitoneal Neoplasms ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Sarcoma* ; Urinary Incontinence ; Uterus*

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between serum uric acid level and metabolic syndrome according to menopausal status in Korean women. METHODS: A total of 2,241 women who visited to the health promotion center at Pusan National University Hospital from 2010 to 2014 were included in this cross-sectional study. Self-report questionnaires and interviews with healthcare providers were used to assess disease history, medication history, menstrual history and body size measuring. Anthropometric measurements and laboratory results were compared as presence of metabolic syndrome and menopausal status by student-t test. Logistic regression analysis was performed between presence of metabolic syndrome and presumable predictive factors, such as age, menopause and serum uric acid. RESULTS: The prevalence rate of metabolic syndrome were 7.45% (63/846) in pre-menopausal group and 23.87% (333/1395) in menopausal group. Serum uric acid level was higher in menopausal women than premenopausal women (4.6 +/- 1.1 vs. 4.3 +/- 0.9. P = 0.000). And, its concentration was also higher in metabolic syndrome than normal women regarding of menopausal statue (premenopause 4.7 +/- 1.1 vs. 4.2 +/- 0.8, P = 0.001, menopause 4.9 +/- 1.3 vs. 4.5 +/- 1.0, P = 0.000). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed serum uric acid and age have relationship with metabolic syndrome (OR: 1.453, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.074-1.111, P = 0.000; OR: 1.092, 95% CI: 1.305-1.619, P = 0.000). CONCLUSION: We could find out some potential of uric acid as predictive factor for metabolic syndrome in premenopausal and menopausal group. Further investigation is required to clarify the relationship between serum uric acid, menopause and metabolic syndrome.
Body Size ; Busan ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Health Personnel ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Logistic Models ; Menopause ; Metabolic Syndrome X ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Uric Acid*

OBJECTIVES: Midlife women's knowledge, positive attitudes and management toward menopause may improve the quality of peri and post-menopause life. This study was to identify correlations of the knowledge, attitude, symptoms and management toward menopause in middle-aged women. METHODS: We used a cross-sectional questionnaire study applying to 231 perimenopausal and menopausal women aged from 40 to 59 years old. The completed data of 189 perimenopausal and menopausal women were analyzed through t-test, ANOVA and pearson's correlation coefficient using the SPSS statistical programme. RESULTS: The menopausal women showed significantly higher physical symptoms than perimenopausal women. The menopausal women showed significantly higher psychosomatic symptom than perimenopausal women. There was a significant correlation between the menopausal attitude and management. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the fundamental data of developing midlife women's symptom index (MSI) and providing menopause management could be a strategy to encourage successful menopausal transition in middle-aged women.
Female ; Humans ; Menopause* ; Postmenopause ; Surveys and Questionnaires