Genital tract abnormalities and female sexual function impairment in systemic sclerosis
Article Abstract:
Systemic sclerosis causes genital tract problems in women that interfere with reproductive and sexual functioning. Sixty women with systemic sclerosis were surveyed and responses compared with 23 age- and disease-duration- matched patients with either rheumatoid arthritis or lupus erythematosus. Like systemic sclerosis, these are systemic autoimmune diseases. Fourteen systemic sclerosis patients also underwent gynecologic examination. Seventy-one percent of systemic sclerosis patients had vaginal dryness, 23% had ulcerations, 56% had painful intercourse, and 12% had vaginal tightness and constricted vaginal opening. These problems were more frequent after disease onset and in comparison with control subjects. They appeared within the first year of onset of sclerosis. Over half the sclerosis patients said the number and intensity of orgasms were reduced compared with less than 20% of subjects with the other autoimmune diseases. Five of 11 sclerosis patients undergoing pelvic examination had abnormally small uteruses, and 7 of 16, nearly half, went through menopause before age 45, compared with 6% of the population at large.
Publication Name: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9378
Year: 1995
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Biliary sludge and gallstones in pregnancy: incidence, risk factors, and natural history
Article Abstract:
Pregnant women may often develop biliary sludge, but they may be less likely to develop gallstones. Biliary sludge is a suspension of calcium bilirubinate granules and cholesterol crystals in bile that occurs in the gall bladder. Among 272 pregnant women, 31% developed biliary sludge and 2% developed gallstones during the last two trimesters of pregnancy. Sixty-one percent of the women who developed biliary sludge recovered without treatment within five months of delivery. Twenty-eight percent of those who developed gallstones recovered spontaneously during the same time period. Biliary pain was associated with the development of gallstones but not with the development of biliary sludge.
Publication Name: Annals of Internal Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0003-4819
Year: 1993
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