Objectives: A specified anatomical degree of prolapse may cause no bother in one individual and a severe form of bother in another. The aim of this study was to determine the factors contributing to the degree of bother due to a given degree of prolapse, to help with the clinical evaluation of patients and planning of preventive intervention trials and surgical treatment.Methods: Consecutive patient records of 654 women who had attended a urogynecology unit between August 2011 and December 2012 were reviewed. All patients underwent a standardized interview, clinical examination and four‐dimensional translabial ultrasound scan. The degree of bother was evaluated using a visual analog scale.Results: Six hundred and thirty‐six women were included in the analysis, with ultrasound data available for cystocele, rectocele and enterocele descent and rectocele depth measurements and 442 for uterine descent. 313 women (49.2%) had subjective symptoms of female pelvic organ prolapse at a mean bother score of 6.0 ± 2.6. Average bother score for the complete dataset was 3.0 ± 3.5. Parity, vaginal delivery, levator avulsion, any significant clinical prolapse or prolapse seen on ultrasound were associated with prolapse bother and all clinical and ultrasound measures of pelvic organ descent remained significant or near significant on multivariate analysis.Conclusions: Quantification of prolapse bother using a visual analog scale is valid and repeatable and may represent a simple tool for use in clinical practice. Copyright © 2013 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Urogenital atrophy affects >50 % of women after breast cancer (BC) and there is reluctance to use local estrogen for this group. Hormone-free therapies like intravaginal laser therapy and hyaluronic acid suppositories have been shown to produce symptom relief in women with BC and urogenital atrophy, but have not been tested against each other. The aim of this study was to compare these nonhormonal modalities in women with urogenital atrophy after BC in a randomized fashion. We randomly assigned 43 women (aged 49-58 years, mean age 54 years) with urogenital atrophy and a history of BC to receive intravaginal laser therapy (2 courses within 1 month) or hyaluronic acid suppositories (3 times/week continuously for three months). The primary endpoint was score on the Vaginal Health Index after 3 months. Secondary endpoints were subjective bother on a numeric rating scale for all urogenital atrophy domains, quality of life, sexual health and pelvic organ prolapse symptoms using validated questionnaires. Of the 43 women who participated, 22 were randomized to intravaginal laser therapy, and 21 to vaginal suppositories. At 3 months score on the Vaginal Health Index had improved significantly in both groups (p = 0.001), without a significant difference between treatment groups (p = 0.232). Significant improvement was also seen in both groups for subjective bother of urogenital atrophy, quality of life and sexual health, without significant differences between laser or hyaluronic acid therapy. Both intravaginal laser therapy and hyaluronic acid suppositories are effective treatment options for women after BC suffering from urogenital atrophy. No difference was found between treatment regimens. gov identifier: NCT03816735, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03816735.

Intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) are the most common complication after hysteroscopy in patients of reproductive age. Intra-abdominal anti-adhesion gel reduces the incidence of adhesions, but effects on fertility after uterine surgery are not known. The objective of our work was to evaluate the effect of intrauterine anti-adhesion gel on spontaneous fertility after repeated intrauterine surgery with induced experimental synechiae in the rabbit model. Twenty New Zealand White rabbits underwent a double uterine curettage 10 days apart and were randomized into two groups. Each rabbit served as its own control: one uterine tube was the treatment group (A), the second uterine tube was the control group (B) to avoid bias through other causes of infertility. Group A received a post curettage intrauterine instillation of anti-adhesion gel whereas group B, the control group, underwent curettage without instillation of the gel. After a recovery period, the rabbits were mated. An abdominal ultrasound performed 21 days after mating allowed us to diagnose pregnancy and quantify the number of viable fetuses. There was a significant difference in total fetuses in favor of group A, with an average of 3.7 (range, 0–9) total fetuses per tube against 2.1 (0–7) in group B (p = .04). The number of viable fetuses shows a trend in favor of group A, with an average of 3.4 (0–7) viable fetuses per tube against 1.9 (0–6) viable fetuses per tube in group B (p = .05). The use of immediate postoperative anti-adhesion gel improved fertility in an animal model after intrauterine surgery likely to cause uterine synechiae. This experimental model will permit comparison of different anti-adhesion solutions, including assessment of their tolerance and potential mucosal toxicity on embryonic development.

Placenta-specific trophoblast and tumor cells exhibit many common characteristics. Trophoblast cells invade maternal tissues while being tolerated by the maternal immune system. Similarly, tumor cells can invade surrounding tissues and escape the immune system. Importantly, both trophoblast and tumor cells are supported by an abetting microenvironment, which influences invasion, angiogenesis, and immune tolerance/evasion, among others. However, in contrast to tumor cells, the metabolic, proliferative, migrative, and invasive states of trophoblast cells are under tight regulatory control. In this review, we provide an overview of similarities and dissimilarities in regulatory processes that drive trophoblast and tumor cell fate, particularly focusing on the role of the abetting microenvironments.

Condition-specific sexual questionnaires are essential for clinical trials and important patient-reported outcome measures. The aim of the study was to translate the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire–International Urogynecology Association Revised (PISQ-IR) into German and to clinically validate it in a German-speaking population.