Methods One hundred two patients (mean age, 62 years) with sympt

Methods. One hundred two patients (mean age, 62 years) with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis

underwent decompressive surgery. They completed the same set of questionnaires before surgery, 3 months, and 1 year after surgery. Depression was assessed with the 21-item Beck Depression learn more Inventory. Physical functioning and pain were assessed with the Oswestry Disability Index, the Stucki Questionnaire, self-reported walking ability, the visual analogue scale and pain drawing. Logistic regression was used to examine the preoperative factors associated with a poorer surgery outcome on 1-year follow-up. In further analysis, a depressive burden variable (sum of preoperative and 3-month Beck Depression BAY 11-7082 NF-��B inhibitor Inventory scores) was included as a predictor.

Results. Eighteen percent of

spinal stenosis patients were depressed on 1-year follow-up. Higher preoperative Beck Depression Inventory scores and depressive burden scores burden were independently associated with a poorer self-reported functional ability, symptom severity and a poorer walking capacity on 1-year follow-up. As a dichotomous predictor, a high depressive burden was independently associated with all the postoperative outcome variables at the 1-year stage: greater disability, pain and symptom severity, and a poorer walking capacity.

Conclusion. The prevalence of depression was notable among 1-year postoperative spinal stenosis patients. Depressive symptoms in the preoperative and early recovery phase were strong predictors of a poorer self-reported surgery outcome on 1-year follow-up. The results call for intervention strategies to detect and treat depression during both the preoperative and postoperative phase.”
“Methods: We studied 51 patients hospitalized for a hip fracture and 51 matched controls from our outpatients department. All patients were subjected to a carotid sinus massage in the supine and upright position. Patients were categorized GSK3326595 in vitro in accidental

(Group A) and unexplained (Group B) fallers.

Results: Six of 33 (18.2%) patients in Group A and 12 of 18 (66.7%) patients in Group B (P < 0.001) had a positive response to the carotid sinus massage. Nine controls (17.6%) also demonstrated CSH. Patients in Group B were older (A: 75.5 +/- 8.5 years vs B: 80.1 +/- 5.9 years, P = 0.029) and were more likely to have a history of unexplained falls or syncope in the past (A: 0% vs B: 66.7%, P < 0.0001) than individuals in group A. Vasodepressor/mixed forms accounted for the majority of CSH responses in Group B (75%). When compared with the control group, CSH was still more common in Group B (B: 66.7% vs control: 17.6%, P < 0.0001) but not in Group A (A: 18.2% vs control: 17.6%, P = 1.000).

Conclusions: The prevalence of CSH is increased in elderly patients with hip fractures, only in those who present with an unexplained fall and report a history of syncope or unexplained falls in the past.

Participants completed the IPSS and the LUTS Tool Prevalence rat

Participants completed the IPSS and the LUTS Tool. Prevalence rates of symptoms captured by the LUTS Tool were compared using IPSS summary scores: 0, 1-7, 8-19, and >= 20. LUTS Tool subscale scores were calculated.

Pearson correlations between the LUTS Tool symptoms and subscales and IPSS symptoms were performed. Logistic regressions evaluated the associations of IPSS scores and LUTS Tool subscales with treatment seeking for LUTS. Results: The IPSS did not assess some symptoms (i. e., incontinence) for which there was a high prevalence among participants. Correlations between the 7 symptoms assessed by the IPSS and LUTS Tool were moderate to high ranging between 0.37 (nocturia women) and GPCR Compound Library order 0.77 (weak stream men), indicating concordance. While the LUTS Tool subscales and the total IPSS score were all significantly associated with treatment seeking, the LUTS Tool OAB subscale in men and Voiding subscale in women most strongly predicted treatment seeking. Conclusion: LUTS that are excluded from the IPSS, most notably incontinence, were prevalent even among mildly symptomatic participants. Since storage symptoms appear to drive treatment seeking, identifying, and treating these symptoms is essential when caring for patients with LUTS. Neurourol. Urodynam. 31: 448-454,

I-BET151 nmr 2012. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.”
“Background: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal and molecularly diverse malignancies. Repurposing of therapeutics that target specific molecular mechanisms in different disease types offers potential for rapid improvements in

outcome. Although Ricolinostat HER2 amplification occurs in pancreatic cancer, it is inadequately characterized to exploit the potential of anti-HER2 therapies.

Methods: HER2 amplification was detected and further analyzed using multiple genomic sequencing approaches. Standardized reference laboratory assays defined HER2 amplification in a large cohort of patients (n = 469) with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Results: An amplified inversion event (1 MB) was identified at the HER2 locus in a patient with PDAC. Using standardized laboratory assays, we established diagnostic criteria for HER2 amplification in PDAC, and observed a prevalence of 2%. Clinically, HER2-amplified PDAC was characterized by a lack of liver metastases, and a preponderance of lung and brain metastases. Excluding breast and gastric cancer, the incidence of HER2-amplified cancers in the USA is >22,000 per annum.

Conclusions: HER2 amplification occurs in 2% of PDAC, and has distinct features with implications for clinical practice. The molecular heterogeneity of PDAC implies that even an incidence of 2% represents an attractive target for anti-HER2 therapies, as options for PDAC are limited. Recruiting patients based on HER2 amplification, rather than organ of origin, could make trials of anti-HER2 therapies feasible in less common cancer types.

Results: Out of the 14,462 newborns screened, 2,647 were prematur

Results: Out of the 14,462 newborns screened, 2,647 were premature with gestational age <32 weeks and/or VLB. Forty-four cases of altered TSH were found and 11 infants underwent treatment. Delayed TSH elevation was detected in 66% of altered cases. Five out of the 11 cases were detected

in the second sample and five cases were only detected in the third sample.

Conclusion: The high prevalence of thyroid function alterations that demanded treatment (1:242) and delayed TSH elevation in VLB premature infants reinforce the need for a specific protocol, based on retesting procedures, for CH neonatal screening.”
“Background Guidelines for prostate cancer (PCa) screening recommend physicians to have an informational discussion with patients. 3-Methyladenine At the Hedgehog inhibitor time of biopsy, patients should be informed of their heightened PCa risk, particularly African Americans (AA) who have significantly higher diagnostic and mortality risk. We tested predictors of patients’ estimation of their likelihood of having PCa at the time of biopsy. Methods A convenience sample of AA (n=207) and white (n=271) biopsy patients was surveyed at the time of prostate biopsy. Participants gave likelihood estimations

of having PCa and data on their socio-demographics, health, clinical status, and general and PCa-specific anxiety. Binary logistic regressions tested for predictors of the patients’ estimations and biopsy results. Results Fifty-one percent of AA men answered that they had a 0%’ likelihood of having PCa versus 19% of whites, whereas 57% of AA men had abnormal biopsies compared with 42% of whites. In logistic regressions, predictors of patient answers of 0% chance of PCa were AA ethnicity (OR=4.50; p<0.001), lower cancer-specific anxiety (OR=0.93; p<0.01), less education (OR=2.38; p<0.05), and less urinary disturbance (OR=0.70; p<.05). In a second regression, AA patients SB-715992 purchase trended towards higher positive

biopsy rates (OR=1.43; p=0.17). Conclusions At biopsy, AA more often estimated their likelihood of PCa as 0%, despite higher risks. Reasons for these low estimates and their potential contribution to poor treatment outcomes of AA patients require further investigation. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.”
“Death from end-stage liver disease (ESLD) because of chronic hepatitis B and C has become in increasing problem in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in the last years. This is mainly because of the dramatic decrease of HIV-related morbidity and mortality since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Although the data on the outcome of liver transplantation in HIV-infected recipients with ESLD is limited, over-all results seem comparable to HIV-infected recipients.

Moreover,

Moreover, learn more it has been proved that this technology can be useful to decompose some toxins that are not affected by thermal processing. In this piece of work, the effect of UV irradiation on all of these

contaminants and components of liquid food has been reviewed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“A novel and simple method for the preparation of chemically bonded poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) coating to silica capillary inner wall was developed, and the PVA-coated capillary columns were employed for capillary electrophoresis (CE). The coating procedure included pretreatment of the capillary inner wall, silanization, aldehyde group functionalization and PVA immobilization. Electroosmotic flow of the coated capillary was almost suppressed over a wide pH range (pH 3-10). High-efficiency separations of cationic proteins (including cytochrome c, lysozyme, a-chymotrypsinogen A) at pH 3.0-5.0 and of anionic proteins (including myoglobin and trypsin inhibitor) at pH 10.0 were achieved with the PVA-coated capillary. Moreover, a “”dual-opposite-injection”" approach was adopted for simultaneous separations of both cationic and anionic proteins at neutral pH with the prepared column. In this CE mode, positively charged proteins migrated from one end of the column to the detector this website while negatively charged proteins from

the other end to the detection window. Good run-to-run repeatability was obtained in all of the protein CE separations performed in this work. The PVA-coated

column can also afford long-term stable uses for protein separations, as demonstrated in 100 repeated uses using a single capillary with the relative standard BI 10773 datasheet deviation values of the retention times less than 0.9%. Moreover, good column-to-column reproducibility was demonstrated by protein CE separation with 10 different columns. The results indicate that the present method for PVA-coated capillary preparation is promising for protein CE applications. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“. miR-122 is a liver-specific microRNA, which also circulates in the blood. The levels of miR-122 in serum and plasma correlate with hepatic necroinflammation in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Here, we investigated whether miR-122 levels correlate with surrogate markers for viral replication and translation. Furthermore, we examined whether miR-122 levels differ in the different groups of HBV-infected patients and whether miR-122 levels may be useful to identify patients with higher or lower risk for liver disease progression. Therefore, RNA was extracted from sera of therapy-naive patients with HBV infection (n = 89) and from healthy volunteers (n = 19). The concentration of miR-122 was assessed by quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR. HBs antigen and HBV DNA levels were quantified as surrogate parameters for HBV replication and translation.


“The head disk interface in a hard disk drive can be consi


“The head disk interface in a hard disk drive can be considered to be one of the hierarchical multiscale systems, which require the hybridization of multiscale modeling methods with coarse-graining procedure. However, the fundamental force field parameters are required to enable the coarse-graining procedure from atomistic/molecular scale to mesoscale models. In this paper, we investigate beyond molecular level and perform ab initio calculations to obtain the force field parameters. Intramolecular

force field parameters for Zdol and Ztetraol were evaluated with truncated PFPE molecules to allow for feasible quantum calculations while still maintaining the characteristic chemical structure of the end groups. Using this website the harmonic approximation to the bond and angle potentials, the parameters were derived from the Hessian matrix, and the dihedral force constants are fit to the torsional energy profiles generated by a series check details of constrained molecular geometry optimization. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3556700]“
“The shock wave driven by short laser pulse is used to study the damage

of brittle material K9 glass. The damage morphology of K9 glass surface indicates that the material has experienced different loading modes, respectively, at the central area and the surrounding area of the shock wave. At the central area of shock wave, the wavefront is plane and has a uniform pressure distribution, the material mainly suffers a longitudinal shock

pressure; but on the edge the shock wave, the wavefront is approximately spherical, besides longitudinal pressure, transverse tensile stress will emerge inside the material. In the latter case, the damage threshold of the material is much smaller than that in the case of compressing by longitudinal pressure only. According to the relationship PHA-848125 between damage area and shock pressure, an experimental method is proposed to measure the damage threshold of materials under shock loading. The damage threshold of K9 glass under spherical shock wave is measured to be about 1.12 GPa; and the damage threshold under plane shock wave is estimated to be between 1.82 and 1.98 GPa. They are much bigger than the damage threshold under static pressure. This method could also be used to measure the damage threshold of other materials when loaded by dynamic pressure. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3564961]“
“A major challenge in rice (Oryza sativa L.) production is to enhance water use efficiency (WUE) and maintain or even increase grain yield. WUE, if defined as the biomass accumulation over water consumed, may be fairly constant for a given species in given climate. WUE can be enhanced by less irrigation. However, such enhancement is largely a trade-off against lower biomass production.

DesignState-level per capita consumption of beer, wine and spirit

DesignState-level per capita consumption of beer, wine and spirits was analyzed using difference-in-differences

econometric methods.

SettingUnited States.

ParticipantsFive treatment states that repealed their laws restricting Sunday alcohol sales during 1990-2007 and 12 control states that retained their Sunday alcohol laws during the same period.

MeasurementsOutcome measures are state-level per capita consumption of overall alcohol, beer, wine and spirits.

FindingsAmong the states that legalized Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Mexico experienced significant increases in overall alcohol consumption (P<0.05). However, the effect of the legalization of Sunday alcohol sales in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on per capita alcohol consumption was insignificant (P=0.964 and P=0.367).

ConclusionsThree out of five states in the BMS202 order United States that repealed their laws restricting Sunday sale of alcoholic beverages during 1990-2007 experienced significant increases in per capita alcohol consumption. This finding implies

that increased alcohol availability leads to an increase in alcohol consumption.”
“In the pathological diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma, we often confront the difficulty of determining whether it is invasive carcinoma or epithelial dysplasia. Recently, myelin and lymphocyte protein (MAL; T-cell differentiation-related Selleckchem NVP-HSP990 gene) has been reported to be a candidate gene suppressed in esophageal carcinoma. When

we performed cDNA microarray analysis, we found that gene expression of MAL was significantly downregulated in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We evaluated the expression of the MAL gene by laser microdissection and real-time PCR methods and protein localization by immunohistochemistry. The gene expression of MAL was significantly decreased in OSCC compared with normal epithelium https://www.sellecn.cn/products/MDV3100.html (P < 0.05). Furthermore, protein expression of MAL disappeared gradually in proportion to malignancy. The results suggest that MAL plays an important role during oral carcinogenesis and that the gene may have potential as a biomarker target for OSCC.”
“Contents

The objective of this study is to evaluate the reproductive efficiency in donors and recipient Mangalarga Marchador mares in commercial programmes of embryo transfer (ET) and the effects of some reproductive characteristics and ET methodology on conception rates in the recipient mares. A total of 1140 flushing procedures were performed and 830 embryos (72.8%) were recovered. There were no differences between the rates of embryonic recovery in the different breeding seasons (p > 0.05) and 92.8% of the recovered embryos were 8-9 days old. There was no difference in the embryonic recovery regarding the collection order from the first to the ninth embryo collection along the breeding season, as well as among mares inseminated during the foal heat or subsequent cycles (p > 0.05).

Eight neural markers were quantitatively

Eight neural markers were quantitatively Sotrastaurin mouse analyzed to phenotype the cellular fate of these cells by double labeling immunohistochemistry.

Results. Following syrinx induction, cell proliferation rate increased to 25-115 times that of cells in the intact and sham-operated controls with a peak at day 14 post-injury. In the earliest time points post-syrinx induction, ED1-expressing inflammatory cells formed a significant proportion of the proliferating population. Proliferating neural progenitor cells predominantly differentiated into NG2-expressing immature oligodendrocytes at all stages post-syrinx induction, except the final time point of 56 days. At this time,

there was a peak in the number of newly generated astrocytes identified to have developed from labeled proliferating precursor cells.

Conclusions. Endogenous neural progenitors proliferate markedly following induction of post-traumatic syringomyelia which consists of www.selleckchem.com/products/Adrucil(Fluorouracil).html two stages, initial cyst formation and progressive cyst enlargement. During the former stage, macrophages proliferate in situ and contribute to the inflammatory process. The predominant cell type formed from progeny of the induced neural progenitors

was characterized to be immature oliggodendrocytes. However, during the latter stage of cyst development, there was an increase in astrocytic progeny which may represent an environment more conductive to glial scar formation acting to limit further cyst enlargement.”
“Production of polyester ACY-738 inhibitor filament involves melt spinning into partially oriented yam (POY), followed by drawing to enhance the bulk and mechanical properties.

The industrial demand of increasing productivity is generally met by increasing POY melt spinning speeds, which is limited by increasing polymer chain orientation (and reducing residual drawability) in the POY produced at higher spinning speeds. Modification of the quench geometry during melt spinning is claimed to allow reduction of air drag and polymer chain orientation, permitting an increase in productivity during melt spinning into POY. We present a simple way for modeling the quenching of molten filaments under the modified (axial) air flow. Numerical simulations of the melt spinning are developed to demonstrate the influence of the quench geometry modification as we compare the process with the conventional cross-flow quench and the modified axial quench. We find that increasing quench air flow reduces the polymer chain orientation, in contrast to the well known effect in cross-flow quench. (c) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 116: 2541-2547, 2010″
“Background: With higher incidence of recurrence, ongoing dispute exists on whether triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a good candidate for breast conserving therapy (BCT).

Objective: We aimed to appraise the safety of BCT in treating TNBC, in comparison with modified radical mastectomy.

Using the caudate nucleus as a seed for the ESV-RSN analysis, we

Using the caudate nucleus as a seed for the ESV-RSN analysis, we found significant decreases of connectivity in the left and right inferior occipital gyrus in PDD as compared to HC. Conclusion: Differences in functional connectivity patterns between PDD and PD/HC were observed in areas

known to be engaged in stimulus-driven reorienting of attention and in visual processing. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel”
“Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) is an autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia characterized by a progressive cerebellar syndrome associated to saccadic slowing, peripheral neuropathy, cognitive disorders, and other multisystem features. SCA2 is caused by the abnormal expansion of cytosine-adenine-guanine triplet repeats in the encoding

region of the ATXN2 gene and therefore the expression of toxic WH-4-023 molecular weight polyglutamine expansions in the ataxin 2 protein, which cause progressive neuronal death of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum and several pontine, mesencephalic, and thalamic neurons among other cells. Worldwide, SCA2 is the second most frequent type of spinocerebellar ataxia, only surpassed by SCA3. Nevertheless, in Holguin, Cuba, the disease reaches the highest prevalence, resulting from a putative foundational effect. This review discusses the most important advances in the genotypical and phenotypical studies of SCA2, highlighting the comprehensive characterization GW3965 mouse reached in Cuba through clinical, neuroepidemiological, neurochemical, and neurophysiological evaluation of SCA2 patients and pre-symptomatic subjects, which has allowed the identification of new disease biomarkers MI-503 chemical structure and therapeutical opportunities. These findings provide guidelines, from a Cuban viewpoint, for the clinical management of the disease, its diagnosis, genetic counseling, and therapeutical options through rehabilitative therapy and/or pharmacological options.”
“Pitted keratolysis (PK)

is a plantar skin disorder mainly caused by coryneform bacteria. A common treatment consists of the topical use of erythromycin. Hyperhidrosis is considered a predisposing factor for bacterial proliferation and, consequently, for the onset of PK. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between PK erythromycin and hyperhidrosis. All patients with PK seen in Sant’Andrea Hospital, between January 2009 and December 2011, were collected. PK was clinically and microscopically diagnosed. All patients underwent only topical treatment with erythromycin 3% gel twice daily. At the beginning of the study and after 5 and 10 days of treatment, a clinical evaluation and a gravimetric measurement of plantar sweating were assessed. A total of 97 patients were diagnosed as PK and were included in the study. Gravimetric measurements showed that in 94 of 97 examined patients (96.

05)

Conclusions: The squat performance improved posto

05).

Conclusions: The squat performance improved postoperatively, likely because of the combined effects of increased knee and ankle angles as well as a greater acetabular opening and thus reduced anterior femoral head coverage, allowing increased posterior pelvic pitch during the descent phase of the squat.”
“A phytochemical investigation of the EtOH extract learn more from the rhizomes and roots of Smilax scobinicaulis resulted in the isolation of a new isospirostanol-type steroidal saponin, namely (25R)-5-spirostan-3,6-diol 3-O–D-glucopyranosyl-(14)-[-L-arabinopyranosyl-(16)]–D-glucopyranoside

(1), along with four known steroidal saponins (2-5). The structures of these compounds were determined by 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic analysis, FABMS and HR-ESI-MS as well as chemical degradation.

The isolated saponins were evaluated for their invitro cytotoxicity against A549, LAC and Hela human cancer cell lines, which demonstrated that only compound 1 possessed significant cytotoxic activity with IC50 values of 3.70, 5.70 and 3.64 mu M, respectively.”
“The devitrification behavior of nanocrystalline MRE(2)(Fe, Co)(14)B+ZrC (MRE=Nd+Y+Dy) was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), synchrotron high temperature x-ray diffraction, and analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Alloy ribbons were melt spun at 25 m/s to obtain an amorphous structure. Optimum hard magnetic GF120918 molecular weight properties (B(r) = 7.2 kG, H(c)=12.7 kOe and (BH)(max)=10.8 MG Oe) were obtained in ribbons annealed at 750 degrees C for 15 min. A reduced annealing temperature of 638 degrees C and holding time from 0 to 11 min were chosen

based on DSC analysis. Large changes in both microstructure and hard magnetic properties were found in a narrow window of annealing time, 4.5-6 min, resulting in a dramatic increase in energy product, remanence and coercivity: 0.96 MG Oe, 5.2 kG, 2.7 kOe to 5.7 MG Oe, 7.2 kG, 8.5 kOe for (BH)(max), Br and Hc, respectively. Epoxomicin in vitro Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and energy filtered TEM analyses indicate that Zr- and C-rich particles (similar to 5 nm) and thin grain boundary layers (1-2 nm thick) are formed surrounding 2-14-1 hard phase grains when the annealing time is over 6 min. Further annealing resulted in a more distinct hard phase surrounded by a nonmagnetic grain boundary phase similar to 1 nm in thickness. The thin grain boundary layer phase starts to disappear with annealing time over 11 min. The partitioning behavior of various elements at different annealing conditions appears to be associated with significant changes in magnetic properties, leading to an improved optimum microstructure. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Our objective was to compare the effects on myocardial perfusion

Our objective was to compare the effects on myocardial perfusion and cardiac function of delayed vs immediate stent implantation after thrombus aspiration in STEMI patients undergoing PCI.

Methods: Eighty-seven STEMI patients with thrombus-containing lesion undergoing PCI were enrolled. After thrombus aspiration

was performed, subjects were divided into 2 groups according to residual thrombus score (TS): immediate stent implantation (ISI) group (n = 47, residual click here TS < 2; stenting was performed immediately), and delayed stent implantation (DSI) group (n = 40, residual TS >= 2; stenting was performed 7 days later). Corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame count and myocardial blush grade were analyzed immediately after PCI. The wall motion score index was assessed on admission and at 6-month follow-up.

Results: At the end of the PCI procedure, the corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame count was significantly shorter and the myocardial blush grade 3 was more frequent in the DSI group than in the ISI group. Compared with the ISI group, the DSI group had a lower incidence of thrombus-related angiographic events, including distal embolization and no reflow. A significantly greater

improvement in wall motion eFT-508 mouse score index from baseline to 6-month follow-up was observed in the DSI group compared with the ISI group.

Conclusions: In STEMI patients presenting with thrombus containing lesion undergoing PCI, delayed stent implantation after thrombus aspiration leads to better myocardial perfusion and cardiac functional recovery in comparison with immediate stent implantation.”
“To investigate the predictive power Ruboxistaurin price of progesterone combined with beta human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-HCG) measurements in the outcome of threatened miscarriage.

This retrospective study was conducted on 245 intrauterine pregnant women from January 2006 to October 2008. 175 women with threatened miscarriages who consulted for vaginal bleeding received exogenous progesterone supplements.

There were 108 patients with ongoing pregnancies until delivery and 67 patients with inevitable miscarriages. Control group included 70 pregnant women. Serum concentrations of progesterone and beta-HCG were measured by Microparticle enzyme immunoassay between the fourth and fifth gestational weeks. The discrimination attained between the two study groups (ongoing pregnancies and inevitable miscarriages) was evaluated by logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

The mean serum levels of progesterone and beta-HCG in patients with inevitable miscarriages (13.76 +/- A 5.52 ng/ml, 3,647.00 +/- A 2,123.00 mIU/ml, respectively) were significantly lower than these levels in normal intrauterine pregnancies (31.67 +/- A 5.86 ng/ml, 13,437.00 +/- A 6,256.00 mIU/ml, respectively) and ongoing pregnancies (25.47 +/- A 6.18 ng/ml, 8,492.00 +/- A 2,389.00 mIU/ml, respectively) (P < 0.001).