One important consideration is the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Many of the contraceptives that have the greatest efficacy in preventing pregnancy provide no protection against STDs, and methods (specifically condoms) that protect against STDs have higher contraceptive failure rates in typical users. In patients at risk for STDs, greater emphasis should be placed on use of a barrier method of contraception, either Tiffany Keys or in combination with another contraceptive method.28Patients also should be made aware of options for emergency contraception. This topic has been reviewed previously29,30; however, two products (Plan B and Preven) are now available in the United States. The use of emergency contraception has not been shown to decrease compliance with standard contraceptive methods.

According to recent research from Canada, "chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a controversial entity whose cause is unknown. In this study we have explored the possibility that progesterone, metabolites may be involved. Plasma levels of the progesterone precursor pregnenolone, progesterone itself, and five ring A- reduced metabolites of progesterone were measured in 20 women with CFS and in 13 age-matched controls.""To minimize the contribution of the ovary, women were Tiffany Money Clips post-menopausal or in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle (day 4-8), and progesterone levels were all well within the expected range (less than or equal to3.5 nmol/l). Mean values for progesterone and all of its metabolites were higher in CFS patients, the most marked being a 2.3-fold elevation in isopregnanolone (3beta,5alpha-tetrahydroprogesterone; pless than or equal to0.001)," stated B.E.P. Murphy and colleagues, McGill University, Department of Psychiatry.

"Progesterone levels were cheap tiffany with those of its metabolites, but even after controlling for progesterone by ANCOVA, isopregnanolone levels were still elevated (pless than or equal to0.001). These elevated levels of isopregnanolone could not be attributed to medications (antidepressants and anxiolytics).""When the CFS patients were divided into two groups according to their Hamilton depression scale ratings, (mean+/-SD) isopregnanolone levels were higher (274+/-160 vs. 197+/-.119 pmol/l) in the less depressed group (ratings 2-14) than in the more depressed group(ratings 17-28), although this difference did not reach significance," study authors said.

"Progesterone levels were negatively correlated with Hamilton depression rating scores (r=-0.56; p<0.01). These results suggest that increases in ring A-reduced progesterone metabolites, particularly isopregnanolone, are associated with CFS, and that the Tiffany Necklaces of CFS is unlikely to be due to depression," investigators concluded.

Murphy and colleagues published their study in Psychoneuroendocrinology (Elevated levels of some neuroactive progesterone metabolites, particularly isopregnanolone, in women with chronic fatigue syndrome. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2004;29(2):245-268).

For additional information, contact B.E.P. Murphy, McGill University, Department Psychiatry, 1033 Pine Avenue W, Montreal, PQ H3A 1A1, Canada.Publisher contact information for the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology is: Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd., the Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK.The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Geriatric, Gynecology, Neurology, Neuroscience and Women's Health.

This article was prepared by Women's Health Weekly editors from Tiffany Notes and other reports. Copyright 2004, Women's Health Weekly via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net.There's something about actors who play heroes. They are kind of hard to resist, even if they don pointy ears or oversize hairy feet for the role.The Return of the King, the climactic last chapter in the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, is about heroes, a group of Everymen who are each up against the wall, but who step up to the mat for each other and for their world, in the final epic showdown against world-ending evil. It is about individual sacrifice, wisdom, compassion and hope.