OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Unicenta (UNCNT) and Melsmon in women with the menopausal symptoms, by analysing the changes in the Kupperman index (primary endpoint), and the hormonal change (secondary endpoint). METHODS: This is a randomized, multi-Center, double-Blind, parallel, non-inferiority clinical study of four different tertiary medical centers. We began the participant recruitment in September 2011, with 218 patients applied over 7 months. All participants had the last visit in April 2012. RESULTS: The Unicenta injection was not inferior to that of Melsmon as measured by the Kupperman index following the injection in both the intent-to-treat and the per-protocol populations (P = 0.63, P = 0.85, respectively). Side effects occurred in 14.0% of the cases (15 patients/18 cases) in the case group, and in 12.6% (14 patients/15 cases) in the control group (P value=0.7599). None were reported to be associated with the medication. The laboratory results and the vital signs showed no statistically significant risk for safety. CONCLUSION: The study showed that Unicenta is not inferior to Melsmon in the change of the Kupperman index after 12 days of injection. The efficacy and safety of Unicenta was shown, with the improvement of the menopausal symptoms.
Female ; Humans ; Menopause ; Vital Signs

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to confirm the clinical and histopathologic findings of ovarian tumors and determine the malignancy before operation. It will attribute to early diagnosis, determining direction of treatment and improving prognosis of malignant ovarian tumor. METHODS: Seven hundred sixty-five patients who had an operation for ovarian tumors in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Gachon University Gil Medical Center from April 2007 to December 2009 were enrolled as subjects. A retrospective analysis of age, parity, menopausal status, preoperative CA 125, histology, ultrasound, and treatment method was done. RESULTS: 1. Among benign ovarian tumors, endometrial cyst (211 cases, 30.1%) was most common and had the highest preoperative CA 125 (76.07 U/mL). 2. Among borderline ovarian tumors, mucinous type (16 cases, 62.5%) was most common, but preoperative CA 125 was higher in serous type (144.38 U/mL) than mucinous type (82.59 U/mL). 3. Among malignant ovarian tumors, serous adenocarcinoma (14 cases, 29.8%) was most common, and undifferentiated carcinoma had the highest preoperative CA 125 (500.0 U/mL). 4. The preoperative CA 125 showed a tendency to increase in relation to stage in malignant ovarian tumors. 5. Age, preoperative CA 125, menopausal status and ultrasound finding were identified as discriminating factors for malignancy and relative risk of them were 7.19, 7.90, 5.56 and 61.43, respectively. CONCLUSION: Using the combination of age, menopausal status, preoperative CA 125 and ultrasound to diagnose ovarian tumors before the operation will be a help to early diagnosis and determining the treatment and improve prognosis.
Adenocarcinoma ; CA-125 Antigen ; Carcinoma ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Mucins ; Obstetrics ; Parity ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Cervical endometriosis is defined as the presence of endometrial glands and stroma at the cervix. This is rare and sometimes asymptomatic. Most of these are diagnosed by incidental findings within histopathology. As the presence of cytological features do not guarantee the presence of cervical endometriosis, it is difficult to diagnose this disorder prior to surgery. We recently encountered a case of cervical endometriosis in a post-menopausal woman who was not receiving hormone therapy. As a reminder to clinicians about this neglected issue, we report a case of cervical endometriosis with a literature review.
Cervix Uteri ; Endometriosis ; Female ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Postmenopause

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the factor influencing the quality of life of married immigrant women in Korea. METHODS: The subjects included 169 married immigrant women from 3 cities. Data collection was conducted by using 33 questionnaires. The SPSS/WIN 18.0 program was also used. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis, stepwise multiple regression were all conducted. RESULTS: The results indicated that the general influencing factors related to the quality of life of married immigrant women are age, education career, nationality, family type, menopause, exercise, salt intake and social support. CONCLUSION: Based on the study results, nursing intervention and social - cultural, economical and social support network, including the consideration of a comprehensive approach, is needed in order to improved the quality of life.
Data Collection ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Ethnic Groups ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Menopause ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the occurrence of glaucoma and association with the serum estradiol (E2) level in postmenopausal women. METHODS: We evaluated the serum E2 level, female reproductive factors and glaucoma related risk factors including intraocular pressure and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings in 30 postmenopausal women who visited Obstetrics and Gynecology outpatient clinic. Patients who showed abnormal findings on the glaucoma screening test were classified to the glaucoma suspect group (group-G), and underwent a glaucoma confirmatory test. Serum E2 level, female reproductive and other menopausal health-related factors such as lipid profiles and bone mineral densities were analyzed in the group-G and non glaucomatous group (group-N). RESULTS: Eight out of thirty participants (26.7%) were classified to the group-G. One of them was diagnosed as having glaucoma that required treatment, and the other two were found to have early glaucomatous changes. Compared to the group-G, the group-N had a higher level of serum E2 (19.40 +/- 4.79 vs. 13.95 +/- 4.55 pg/mL) The difference, however, was not statistically significant (P = 0.525). The proportion of glaucoma suspect patients in the groups with a higher serum E2 level (> or = 20 pg/mL) and a lower serum E2 level (< 20 pg/mL) was similar (25.0 and 27.3%, P = 0.645). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that no female reproductive factors were associated with the risk of glaucoma. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive glaucoma screening using an OCT in postmenopausal women could detect more glaucoma patients than prevalence in the similar age group. Statistical significance was not found in the association between serum E2 level and the risk of glaucoma.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Bone Density ; Estradiol ; Female ; Glaucoma ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; Obstetrics ; Postmenopause ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Tomography, Optical Coherence

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and hormone therapy (HT) and its duration in postmenopausal women. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study on 291 postmenopausal women who had their BMD and follow-up BMD measured in a university hospital. We analyzed BMD, HT types and HT duration according to clinical characteristics. RESULTS: The mean age of the study subjects was 53.7 +/- 5.9 years. HT types and HT duration were not statistically related to improvement in BMD (P = 0.956, 0.483). But osteoporosis in patients with hormone therapy improves bone mineral density showed statistical significance (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: HT types and HT duration did not have any effect on bone mineral density, but further prospective multicenter studies regarding HT should be considered for osteoporosis.
Bone Density ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Osteoporosis ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVES: To assess the ability of risk of malignancy index (RMI) 1 to discriminate between benign and malignant pelvic masses. METHODS: Between January 2007 and December 2010, 547 women with pelvic masses were evaluated. Their medical records are reviewed here retrospectively. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the cancer antigen (CA) 125 level, ultrasound findings and menopausal status in the prediction of malignant pelvic masses were calculated and compared individually or combined using the RMI 1. RESULTS: The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of CA 125, the ultrasound score and the RMI 1 were all found to be relevant predictors of malignancy. ROC analysis of the RMI 1, CA 125 serum levels, ultrasound score and menopausal status showed areas under the curves of 0.795, 0.782, 0.784 and 0.594, respectively. The RMI 1 was found to be statistically significantly correlated with menopausal status (P = 0.001), while not statistically significantly correlated with CA 125 (P = 0.628) or the ultrasound score (P = 0.541). The RMI 1 at a cut-off of 150 - with a sensitivity of 77.9%, specificity of 81.1%, positive predictive value of 51.7% and negative predictive value of 93.4% - showed the highest performance in determining the malignant tendency of pelvic masses. CONCLUSION: Accepting a RMI 1 cut-off value of 150 results in statistically more significant diagnostic criteria than menopausal status for the discrimination of benign and malignant pelvic masses.
Discrimination (Psychology) ; Female ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to consider the clinical experience of an ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted resection (Mammotome) for benign breast lesions through a core needle biopsy. METHODS: The authors carried out a core needle biopsy and Mammotome for 347 patients and investigated the pathologic results. RESULTS: The significant difference of core needle biopsy and Mammotome results was demonstrated, Spearman correlation coefficient is 0.413 in a correlation analysis. CONCLUSION: This experience suggest Mammotome is a useful procedure for providing more correct pathologic findings through complete resection of benign breast lesions.
Biopsy, Large-Core Needle ; Breast ; Breast Diseases ; Breast Neoplasms ; Humans ; Mammography ; Needles

OBJECTIVES: Phytoestrogen-containing pulse supplements have beneficial effects on postmenopausal symptoms, but how such effects are achieved is unclear. This study investigates the effects of pulse consumption on the menopausal changes in ovariectomized rats. METHODS: Female Sprague-Dawley rats were either sham operated (Sham; n = 3) or surgically ovariectomized (n = 13). The Sham group was fed the regular AIN-93M diet. Ovariectomized group was divided into 3 sub-groups and fed AIN-93M containing soybean (n = 5), mung bean (n = 3), or cowpea (n = 5) for 10 weeks. At the end of the experiment, all rats were sacrificed, and the uterus was harvested, rinsed, and weighed. Expressions of vitamin D receptor (VDR), estrogen receptor (ER) beta, and ezrin in uterus were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: VDR was highly expressed in the uterus of rat, irrespective of ovariectomized state. VDR was more definitely expressed in the uterus of ovariectomized groups than the sham-operated group. There were no significant differences in expression of ER beta. However the expression of ezrin was highly expressed in the cowpea group compared to sham group (P = 0.044). CONCLUSION: This study suggested that legumes diet may concern menopausal changes via VDR and ezrin. The result may partly explain the beneficial effects of VDR on menopausal symptoms. Further study is necessary to study the detailed mechanisms of VDR and ezrin on the menopausal changes in the uterus.
Animals ; Cytoskeletal Proteins ; Diet ; Estrogens ; Fabaceae ; Female ; Humans ; Menopause ; Mice ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; Salicylamides ; Soybeans ; Uterus ; Vitamin D ; Vitamins

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS, Mirena(R)) on the mammographic density, mammographic findings and breast ultrasonographic findings in Korean premenopausal women. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of 639 premenopausal women, who inserted LNG-IUS in our department from 2000-2011. Among these, 46 women, who underwent regular mammography (MMG) or breast ultrasonography (USG) examination in radiology department before and after insertion of the LNG-IUS after establishment of picture archiving and communication system (PACS) system in our hospital were finally included in this analysis. We compared the findings of MMG and breast USG between pre- and post-insertion of LNG-IUS. We also checked the pathologic results of any breast biopsy performed in these study participants. The Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to investigate the changes pre- and post-insertion of LNG-IUS. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 42.3 +/- 4.9 years and the mean interval period for MMG and US follow-up (FU) was 25.5 +/- 10.8 months and 25.2 +/- 11.5 months, respectively. The density of MMG before insertion of LNG-IUS correlated well with the FU MMG density. The findings of MMG and US also correlated well before and after insertion of LNG-IUS. There was no case of breast cancer among women who were supposed to undergo breast biopsy because of abnormal findings in MMG and US. CONCLUSION: The use of LNG-IUS did not cause any changes in MMG density, findings of MMG, and findings of breast USG in healthy premenopausal Korean women.
Biopsy ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Levonorgestrel ; Mammary Glands, Human ; Mammography ; Medical Records ; Ultrasonography, Mammary