Benign Intracranial Hypertension with Particular Reference to Its Occurrence in Fat Young Women

Benign intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri), a syndrome common to a number of disorders, is characterized by headaches and blurred vision. The patient is alert and has papilledema without localizing signs. Air studies show normal ventricles under increased pressure. The authors describe 61 consecutive cases of this pseudotumour, 48 of which were in fat young women, and propose that this group represents a clinical entity that has hitherto received little attention.In these 61 patients, 40 complete-exchange pneumoencephalograms showed normal ventricles, normal fluid volume and prominent cortical sulci. In 32, subtemporal decompression resulted in prompt and lasting relief. Three patients had late convulsive seizures after surgery. Seven patients had nasal quadrantanopsias, the implications of which are discussed. The authors believe that the high intracranial pressure in this condition is due to cerebral hyperemia, not brain edema. Further investigation will perhaps demonstrate a relationship between obesity, vascular dilatation and increased intracranial pressure.     

Vitamin A,Pregnancy, and Oral Contraceptives

It has been shown that women receiving oral contraceptives have increased levels of serum vitamin A. High vitamin A levels may constitute a teratogenic hazard and it has been suggested that women who conceive soon after discontinuing oral contraceptive therapy may be especially at risk to this hazard.We have confirmed a significant increase in vitamin A levels in women taking oral contraceptives. During early pregnancy there is no significant difference in vitamin A levels between women who have recently been taking oral contraceptives and those who have not. We have been unable to show that either taking oral contraceptives shortly before pregnancy or a high vitamin A level during the first trimester of pregnancy, comparable to that of a woman taking oral contraceptives, has any detrimental effect on the outcome of pregnancy. It seems unlikely that women who conceive soon after discontinuing oral contraception run any teratogenic risk from increased vitamin A levels.     

Treatment of Acne Vulgaris with Tetracyline Hydrochloride: a Double-blind Trial with 51 Patients

Fifty-one patients with acne vulgaris were included in a double-blind trial to assess the therapeutic effect of 250 mg. tetracycline hydrochloride twice daily for three months. The results, assessed clinically and photographically, showed that tetracycline hydrochloride had a statistically significant beneficial effect. Hence, since it is cheap and rarely has side-effects in healthy young adults, its use is suggested, as well as local therapy, in the more severe forms of acne.     

Choice of therapy and mode of delivery in idiopathic intracranial hypertension during pregnancy

Benign intracranial hypertension (BIH) or idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a rare disorder of unknown etiology that is most often seen in obese women of reproductive age (19.3/100,000) and is reported only occasionally during pregnancy. Both pregnancy and exogenous estrogens are thought to promote IIH or worsen it. It can occur in any trimester during pregnancy, and the visual outcome is the same as for nonpregnant patients with IIH. There is no increase in fetal wastage; therapeutic abortion to limit its progression is not indicated, and subsequent pregnancies do not increase the risk of recurrence. Most therapies used during the nonpregnant state can also be used during pregnancy. The aim of treatment is to preserve vision and improve symptoms. Treatments include analgesics, diuretics, steroids, and serial lumbar punctures. When medical therapy fails, surgical procedures need to be considered. Although this condition has been reviewed often, the issue of mode of delivery, especially when papilledema has not resolved, is unclear. We report on 3 women with IIH during pregnancy and review the choice of therapy and mode of delivery.     

Pulmonary hypertension and fenfluramine

Pulmonary hypertension developed in two women who had been taking fenfluramine for over eight months for weight reduction. On withdrawing the drug symptoms and electrocardiographic evidence of pulmonary hypertension disappeared in both cases. In one patient, however, the evidence recurred after rechallenge with fenfluramine.These findings are strong evidence that fenfluramine may cause pulmonary hypertension. Hence any patient taking the drug should report immediately any deterioration in exercise tolerance.     

Acne: double blind clinical and laboratory trial of tetracycline,oestrogen-cyproterone acetate,and combined treatment.

Since the recent introduction of a drug regimen containing 2 mg of the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate and 50 micrograms ethinyl-oestradiol (Diane; oestrogen-cyproterone acetate) several uncontrolled reports have extolled the benefits of this drug. Double blind studies, however, are lacking. Sixty two patients with moderate or moderately severe acne were therefore included in a double blind trial of treatment for six months comparing tetracycline alone, oestrogen-cyproterone acetate alone, and a combination of these agents. Sebum excretion rates and bacterial counts were measured before, during, and after treatment, at the same time as a clinical assessment was made. At six months the acne (as assessed by overall grade) had improved by 68% in the antibiotic treated group and by 74% in the oestrogen-cyproterone treated group. The group given a combination of both agents improved by 82%, which was significantly better (p less than 0.025) than the improvement in the tetracycline treated patients. No significant difference was found between the groups given oestrogen-cyproterone alone and the combined treatment. The sebum excretion rate was suppressed by 25% in the patients in both groups receiving oestrogen-cyproterone but not in the group given antibiotics alone. Oestrogen-cyproterone acetate is as effective as antibiotics in treating acne in women, and adding antibiotics offers no advantage over using oestrogen-cyproterone on its own, although in this study the combination was more effective than tetracycline alone at six months.     

Therapeutic Agents in Acne Vulgaris: I. Tetracycline

A total of 120 consecutive patients with pustular and cystic acne vulgaris were selected for study. Patients were assigned a placebo and a tetracycline medication in a random method. Of the 53 patients who were given tetracycline, 45 showed some response, which was fair in 19 and excellent in 26. Of the 55 patients who received placebo, 24 showed no response while 31 showed some improvement. No side effects were reported. The difference in response between the two groups is statistically significant. It is concluded that administration of 250 mg. tetracycline four times daily, even for periods as short as two weeks, enhances the likelihood of improvement of cystic or pustular acne vulgaris.     

Effect of oral contraceptives on sebum excretion rate.

Oral contraceptives containing a high dose of oestrogen reduce the sebum excretion rate (SER) and improve acne vulgaris, but more progestogenic preparations may exacerbate acne. The effect on the SER of several oral contraceptives with varying progestogenic potencies was studied in 81 women. The predominantly progestogenic pills (Eugynon 30, Gynovlar) produced no significant change in SER, whereas the rate in women taking a more oestrogenic pill (Minovlar) was significantly reduced compared with the rate in controls. Progestogens therefore do not exacerbate acne by inducing seborrhoea, but in the doses we studied they nullified the inhibitory effect of oestrogens on the sebaceous glands. Acne-prone women who require an oral contraceptive should be given a predominantly oestrogenic preparation.     

Therapeutic Agents in Acne Vulgaris: Part II. D-Alpha Amino Benzyl Penicillin,Erythromycin and Sulfadimethoxine

A total of 379 patients with pustular and cystic acne vulgaris were selected for study in three groups. Each group was assigned one of the following medications: benzyl penicillin, erythromycin, sulfadimethoxine, or placebo; these were to be compared with tetracycline, a medication whose effectiveness was previously demonstrated in this type of acne. The study revealed a larger number of favourable responses to tetracycline and erythromycin than to sulfadimethoxine. Sulfadimethoxine, however, produced a greater number of favourable responses than did the benzyl penicillin or the placebo; the last-named had equivalent results.     

Vitamin A toxicity and hypercalcaemia in chronic renal failure.

Serum vitamin A concentrations were measured in 38 patients undergoing haemodialysis, 24 of whom were taking multivitamin preparations containing vitamin A. Vitamin A concentrations were significantly higher in patients undergoing haemodialysis than in 28 normal controls (p less than 0.001). Patients taking vitamin A supplements had significantly higher vitamin A concentrations than those not taking them (p less than 0.05), and hypercalcaemic patients had higher concentrations than normocalcaemic patients (p less than 0.005). Withdrawal of vitamin A supplements in seven patients caused significant falls in serum vitamin A concentrations and plasma calcium concentrations (p less than 0.01 at two and three months in both cases) and in plasma alkaline phosphatase concentrations (p less than 0.01 at two months). Vitamin A toxicity can contribute to hypercalcaemia in patients undergoing haemodialysis, probably by an osteolytic effect. Multivitamin preparations containing vitamin A should therefore be prescribed with caution in these patients.     

What is the best approach to reducing birth defects associated with isotretinoin?

BACKGROUND TO THE DEBATE: Isotretinoin is an effective treatment for severe acne, a condition which can be physically, emotionally, and socially disabling. Because the drug is teratogenic, causing severe birth defects, women taking the drug are directed to avoid pregnancy. In the United States, a series of risk reduction programs have been implemented that aim to prevent pregnant women from taking the drug and to prevent women taking it from getting pregnant. The most recent, and most stringent, is an Internet-based, performance-linked system called iPLEDGE, which tries to ensure that the drug is dispensed only when there is documentary proof that the patient is not pregnant and is using two forms of birth control. Is iPLEDGE the best way to reduce isotretinoin birth defects, or is it an unproven and overly burdensome system?     

Malignant hypertension in women of childbearing age and its relation to the contraceptive pill.

Eleven of 34 women aged 15-44 with malignant phase hypertension were taking oral contraceptives at presentation. All had had normal blood pressure before starting to take the pill. In four the interval between the start of oral contraception and the diagnosis of malignant hypertension was less than four months, and in eight no other cause for the hypertension was found. Underlying renal disease and renal failure were less common among pill users than among non-users with malignant hypertension who were of similar age. No pill user became normotensive after withdrawal of the pill, but blood pressure was well controlled (diastolic less than 90 mm Hg) in three patients taking only one drug. By contrast, all 23 non-users needed two or more antihypertensive drugs to control blood pressure. Ten year survival was 90% among pill users and 50% among non-users. These results suggest that oral contraceptives may be a common cause of malignant hypertension in women of child-bearing age. If the pill is stopped and underlying renal disease excluded the long term prognosis for such patients is excellent.     

Vitamin A--a pregnancy hazard alert.

Vitamin A is essential to human health, but concerns have arisen recently regarding its potential teratogenicity. Human and animal birth defects have been associated with the use of the vitamin A analogue, isotretinoin, or Accutane, for acne treatment, although the association of such defects with vitamin A itself is unclear. The federal Food and Drug Administration is evaluating the health issues surrounding vitamin A and, together with the manufacturer, has developed restrictions and label warnings to ensure the appropriate use of Accutane. We also have evaluated these issues, with concerns about the possible teratogenicity of high vitamin A intake during pregnancy. Practitioners should be familiar with the possible hazard of excessive dosages of vitamin A and its analogues. Vitamin A daily doses of higher than 8,000 IU for pregnant woman are not necessary for good health and are not recommended. Foods high in beta-carotene can provide the necessary amounts of vitamin A and, in contrast to the synthetic analogues, their use has not been associated with vitamin A toxicity or teratogenicity in humans or animals.     

Ovarian Fibroma Mimicking Malignant Tumor on F-18 FDG PET/CT

Benign ovarian tumors like fibroma rarely shows mild or moderate F-18 FDG uptake. FDG-avid adnexial lesions in postmenopausal women should be as considered primarily malignant. A 69 years old female who had diagnosis with both colon adenocarcinoma and lung carcinoma, was referred to F-18 FDG PET/CT imaging for follow up. A mass lesion showing moderate F-18 FDG uptake at right adnexial region was detected. She was operated after gynaecological evaluation. Her histopathology examination was reported as ovarian fibroma.     

Estrogen receptor genes polymorphisms determine serum lipid profile in healthy postmenopausal women treated with calcium,vitamin D,and genistein

Cardiovascular risk increases in women after menopause. Unfavorable lipid-lipoprotein changes due to a lack of estrogens may have an important role in this context. Estrogen actions are mainly mediated by their binding to two estrogen receptors (ERs) whose signaling may be conditioned by different factors. Calcium, vitamin D, and genistein, among others, cause a beneficial effect on serum lipid profile by its modulation. Some genetic factors can also determine this signal. We determined the possible additive effect of genistein on calcium and vitamin D supplementation regarding serum lipid profile changes and whether ER polymorphisms may mediate in this effect. We performed a prospective, double blind study in which women were randomized in two groups: one group received calcium and vitamin D and the other group received calcium, vitamin D and genistein. Subsequently, we studied rs9340799, rs928554, and rs4986938 ER polymorphisms in both groups. Our results showed that being a carrier of the variant allele G of rs928554 polymorphism was associated with a greater decrease in triglyceride levels and that the homozygous AA genotype of rs9340799 polymorphism was associated with a greater decrease in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride levels after calcium, vitamin D, and genistein supplementation. This is the first report showing an association between polymorphisms in ER genes and an improvement of the serum lipid profile after taking calcium, vitamin D, and genistein supplementation in postmenopausal women. It reinforces the hypothesis that genetic factors are crucial in ER signalling.     

Antibiotic-resistant Propionibacterium acnes on the skin of patients with moderate to severe acne in Stockholm

The objective was to study the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of Propionibacterium acnes strains isolated from patients with moderate to severe acne in Stockholm, Sweden and to determine the diversity of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types among resistant P. acnes strains. One hundred antibiotic-treated patients and 30 non-antibiotic-treated patients with moderate to severe acne participated in the investigation. Facial, neck and trunk skin samples were taken with the agar gel technique. The susceptibility of P. acnes strains to tetracycline, erythromycin, clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was determined by the agar dilution method. The genomic profiles of the resistant strains were determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. In the group of patients treated with antibiotics, resistant P. acnes strains were recovered in 37%, while in the non-antibiotic group of patients the incidence of resistant strains was 13%. Thus antibiotic-resistant P. acnes strains were significantly more often isolated from antibiotic-treated patients with moderate to severe acne than from non-antibiotic-treated patients (odds ratio, 3.8; P=0.01). There was a genetic diversity among the P. acnes strains. Forty-four different patterns of SpeI DNA digests were detected and two predominant clones were found. P. acnes strains exhibited different antibiotic susceptibility patterns and identical genotypes or vice versa. A person can be colonized with different strains with varying degrees of antibiotic resistance. The risk of increased resistance of P. acnes must be considered when treating acne patients with antibiotics, and especially long-term therapy should be avoided.     

Conjugal disharmony: a hitherto unrecognised cause of strokes.

Two women of reproductive age suffered strokes. Neither was taking oral contraceptives, and investigations showed no other causal factors. The radiological findings were characteristic of traumatic internal carotid artery occlusion, but neither patient gave a history of trauma. Only after further inquiry into the patients'' social circumstances did it emerge that each had survived an attempt at strangulation by her husband. Such a cause of stroke in young women should be considered when other causes of carotid artery occlusion cannot be identified.     

Reversible hypertension caused by calcium overloading in a patient with postoperative hypoparathyroidism

A 37-year-old woman with postoperative hypoparathyroidism had hypertension, and elevated plasma renin activity (PRA) and subsequent hyperaldosteronism during a two-month hypercalcemic period caused by vitamin D and excessive calcium supplements. The hypertension with elevated PRA, however, was resistant to the angiotensin II (AII) analog [Sar1, Ile8] ALL. PRA further increased and plasma aldosterone decreased in response to the [Sar1, Ile8] ALL. When the patient became normocalcemic, normotensive and normoreninemic, calcium gluconate (5 mg calcium/kg/h) was infused for one hour. The calcium infusion reproduced hypercalcemic hypertension mediated by an increase in total peripheral resistance. These observations suggest that the hypertension observed while taking vitamin D and excessive calcium supplements may be caused by a direct effect of calcium on peripheral blood vessels and the renin-angiotensin system may play a negligible role.     

Do antihypertensive drugs precipitate diabetes?

A longitudinal population study of 1462 women aged 38-60 was carried out from 1968-9 to 1980-1 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The initial and follow up examinations included questions concerning history of diabetes and antihypertensive treatment. A considerably increased risk of developing diabetes was observed for subjects with hypertension taking diuretics (895 patient years), subjects taking beta blockers (682 patient years), and subjects taking a combination of diuretics and beta blockers (281 patient years) compared with subjects not taking antihypertensive drugs (13 855 control years). When diuretics and beta blockers were compared no difference was found in relative risk. Despite this increased risk, and because little is known about the relation between other forms of antihypertensive treatment and diabetes, diuretics and beta blockers should remain the treatments of choice in arterial hypertension.     

Prevalence of facial acne vulgaris in late adolescence and in adults.

A survey of 1066 healthy women and 1089 healthy men aged 18-70 years, performed to determine the prevalence of facial acne, showed that clinical acne was not confined to adolescents. Though it was more prevalent among men than women at 18, beyond the age of 23 clinical acne was more prevalent among women as the prevalence in men gradually declined. At 40-49 years 3% of men and 5% of women still had definite, albeit mild, clinical acne, and at 50-59 years 6% of men and 8% of women had physiological acne. The surprisingly high prevalence of acne in adults may be related to antibiotic treatment or, in women, to the use of oral contraceptives or cosmetics, though this survey did not study their influence. Further studies in different populations are needed to establish the prevalence of acne in the community, and its distribution.