=Urinary Estrogen Test=





Estrogen is a hormone that is found in three types, estrone, estradiol and estriol. Urinary estrogen test is done to monitor and asses the fetus during pregnancy. Estrogen especially estriol levels are known to have increased levels in the 24 hour urine during pregnancy or during the 9 month course of pregnancy.


This test can also be ordered when a patient is experiencing infertility or when taking a hormone replacement therapy to check for the effectiveness of the treatment.


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Kober reaction is the primary assay for urinary estrogen. In this assay the urine is heated in a strong aqueous sulfuric acid solution containing hydroquinone.


Before analysis the sample must be checked for glucose concentration. High levels of glucose can affect the reaction and can form acetaldehyde when reacted to hydroquinone thus giving false negative results. Hydrolysis of estrogen is accomplished by either adding HCl, heat or enzymatically. Ethyl acetate extraction separates the steroid hormones from other materials.


After hydrolysis and exclusion of the other urine materials, a combination of hydroquinone and sulfuric acid is added to the tube containing the estrogens. The tube is then heated to turn out a reddish-brown color solution. Absorbance is then determined spectrophotometry at 474, 512 and 556 nanometers. Followed by an Allen correction to estimate the estrogen concentration using standard solutions for calibration.


This assay is only relevant during the middle and latter stages of pregnancy or during the 15th to 20th week of gestation. Flourometric assays have a high sensitivity and accuracy for cases of non pregnancy.


Can cause false negative results:

· Ampicillin treatment

· Antibiotics

· Hydrochlorothiazine

· Meprobamate


Can cause false positive results:

· Meprobamate

· L-dopa

· Phenolphthalein



Increased and decreased levels of estrogen can be seen in patient with: click for website




Reference:

Clinical chemistry, A fundamental textbook by Donald F. Calbreath




Are you in favor of drug testing before admission in school?





Yes I favor drug testing before admission in school, this is to solve our problems on drug addiction and on the moral issues the school administration takes on reports of their students taking prohibited drugs. Drug testing also screens or filter students, so that only deserving and ideal students would be admitted.





If there is no drug testing before admission, youths who are addicted to this bad habit can enter freely to school and can influence other students to be hooked also in this vice, Thus increasing the population of drug addicts in the community.




Those who are screened to be positive on the test (including their guardians) should be given proper counseling to find out the source of the problem and help the youth mend its ways and continue schooling.


Effects of Drug abuse:



Video by: marajade619

Photo credits:

Smoking..Drinking Alcohol..Why so addictive??


In this modern age smoking and drinking alcohol become a very addicting hobby not only for the elderly but unfortunately for the youth of today’s era. That is why cigarette smoking and alcohol become the most widely used substance of abuse today.


Looking at the picture below:







We can always see these signs posted on wrappers and boxes of cigarette, but even if smokers often see them, they just simply ignore it and keep on practicing their favorite vice. .Smoking


But still what keeps them from smoking even though they are aware of the hazard this hobby can cause? One factor would be availability. Compared to cocaine, marijuana etc. cigarette is legally sold in almost every store in the streets. This gives the smoker more products to buy which makes him/her more hooked to it.

Peer factor or environmental factor can also affect the rate of smokers especially the youth; non-smokers are tempted to try smoking because they can see their friends or members of their family enjoying the habit.


Another factor is that Cigarette contains nicotine an addicting substance, this substance can travel to the brain faster than any injected substance of abuse because it does not need to travel intravenously for the smoker to feel its effect






video by: ehowhealth

The withdrawal symptoms are also a big factor why smoking is a hard habit to break. Craving for nicotine is often experienced by people who try to quit smoking. It takes a good and strong self control to fight the urge to smoke.






Drinking alcohol is another major problem, we may not admit it, but mostly teens and pre-adults are the most commonly hooked to this pass-time habit. Like cigarette availability is a factor concerning alcohol addiction. One can buy alcoholic drinks on convenient stores to the nearest store near the drinker’s house. Environmental factors are also critical in developing alcoholism. Friends and peer pressure often mislead to this habit.







And like nicotine alcohol change the state of the mind of the drinker, it can change the mood of the drinker and makes him/her feel a sense of satisfaction that’s why many are hooked to this satisfying effect of alcohol. The more we drink the more the body depends on it, that’s why it is hard to take out of our life and just stop drinking





Video by: benjohnsonHA


References:

=TOXICOLOGY( CURIOSITY KILLS ) =


click for video link



Here now sitting in my bed after a

stressful day.Feeling somnolent thought

i can sleep this night off comfortably

then I remember that we are asked to

write a blog about personal experiences

regarding toxicology. After few minutes

of thinking and recalling past events i

finally had the idea on what to write.



It all happened when,I think I was five

or six years old. My little brother used

to have asthma attacks(hika in tagalog)

and my mother always give him "ventolin"

or "salbutamol" to help him relieve from

shortness of breath due to

broncho-dilation an allergic response

which is common in asthma attacks.





Everytime he had an asthma attack the

machine called nebulizer(a machine that

process ventolin to a semigas form)

always intrigues me.I wonder what that

gas smells like or what it taste. Until

one day i experimented on it,turned it on

put the ventolin on a chamber then start

inhaling the gas that comes out of the

narrow tube with a wide oppening or a

nose/mouthpiece. then after a few minutes

my head started to feel heavier a little

and i got a little dizzy. thats when i

realized i must stop what i am doing

before my mother goes into the room and

scold me for using the nebulizer and

experimenting on it.




After recalling this event an odd

question enters my mind, what if i did

not stop on inhaling that ventolin gas?

and i started researching about ventolin

on my favorite search engine Google.


Then i found out that ventolin is a drug

specially made for acute asthma beacuse

it releaves bronchodilation during

attacks and eases the breathing of an

asthmatic person like my brother.


And that what i have experience are minor

side effects of ventolin besides from

head ache and dizziness tremors,

palpitations and tachycardia are some

other health consequences of the drug.



And maybe if my conscience did not

disrupt me from inhaling the aerosol

gas,I would have ended up in the hospital

due to serious salbutamol intoxication

and im glad that dreaded event did not

happen wheew..trully curiosity KILLS..





photo credits:



=Placental Hormone Test=



Ok… After finishing off two rounds of DOTA to relieve the stress from school work it’s time
to do my assignment on clinical chemistry. This week’s task is just a continuation of last week’s assignment, this time it’s the laboratory test available to detect the presence of the placental hormones and I will give you corresponding test to my previously discussed hormones the progesterone, estrogen and more importantly HCG or HumaChorionic Gonadothropin.

First off we start with the test for progesterone or sometimes called Infertility testing. This test is used to asses on problems with infertility on the woman’s part, wherein progesterone is measured to determine if the women have undergone ovulation and to determine the time or period when ovulation occurred. This test is also used to rule out ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage.

The test is done by extracting blood from the women/patient and analyzing the blood sample for the progesterone level in the blood and results are available within twenty four hours. Some precautions before undergoing infertility test includes the time between the last menstrual period and the day of the test, because progesterone levels are higher during menstrual cycle, time of last meal, time of the day and exercise

Normal value of progesterone is less than 1 nanogram per ml of blood during the first day to the fourteen day of menstruation and 3 to 25 nanograms per ml during the fifteenth and twenty-fifth day of the menstrual cycle.

Abnormal values may indicate pregnancy, ovarian or adrenal cancer and overproduction of adrenal hormones.





The second hormone is estrogen which is also tested for fertility problems. Estrogen is comes in three types estrone, estradiol and estriol.

Estrone test is used to determine and screen patients for ovarian tumors polcystic ovarian syndrome, Turner’s syndrome and in males for gynecomastia ( man boobs ). While Estradiol test is used to evaluate ovarian function estradiol levels are increased in cases of gynecomastia in males, early puberty in females and to determine whether the cost of amenorrhea is from menopause or pregnancy and in some cases diseases associated with the reproductive system. On the other hand Estriol test is used to monitor high-risk pregnancy this test is done at the same time each day to monitor estriol level. Decreased level of estriol may indicate genetic diseases such as adrenal abnormality, down syndrome and neural tube defects.

And the last but equally important hormone is the HCG or Human chorionic gonadotropin. HCG is a prominent marker of placental growth and is monitored to asses and confirm pregnancy. HCG test can be done in two methods one using blood sample of the patient and the other using pregnancy strips or cassette method.

The blood test method which is the most accurate method of detecting HCG in the patient’s circulation it is measured in the blood by using RIA or radioimmuno assay and ELISA or enzyme immune assay wherein HCG can be detected as early as two days before the missed period or menstruation. Value more than 10 mIU/ml is indicative of pregnancy or placental growth

While using the strip method, the patient is asked to place a few drops of her urine in the test cassette (if present) or drop the urine on the reagent strip. High HCG level will be represented by 2 prominent lines on the strip one for the control and one for the urine sample. HCG can be detected using this method in as early as 6 days after conception


strip/cassette method

Pregnancy is not the only case wherein HCG levels are higher than the usual it can also be caused by ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, abortion, cyst and tumors of the ovary and the cervix for these cases further screening test should be done to pinpoint the actual cause of hormonal increase

Yeah..!Now my task is done and I hope this post helps you more in understanding placental hormones thank you for reading and God bless..

for more info:

www.labtestsonline.org


photo credits:

http://api.ning.com/files/WWr3SEnP8RZTimEbYIRBp5TMmLy4VZx2c9EOj023XbB85-HT9rcnoKjGFXn0209r46gqCozyfnfhWfHU4tHsK7kSp4S4YSQ5/pregnancy

=The Placenta And The Hormones It Secreted=

Ever wonder where the fetus resides inside the womb of a pregnant woman? Well the answer is our assignment for the week which is the placenta we often hear the word placenta on different beauty products such as soaps and lotions that are sold in the market but except from being a potent beauty product its main function is to act like a yolk sac for the fetus to reside on.

It connects the fetus to the uterus of the mother thus providing nutrition for the fetus it also allow the fetus to elliminate waste material and exchange respiratory gases with its environment the placenta is present in the womb of the mother since the first day of fetal life and last until the fetus is ready to be born approximately 9 months after conception.there are many hormones that are secreted by the placenta these hormones are classified as steroid and protien hormones.




THE HORMONES

The steroid hormones are the progestins which include the hormone progesterone these progestins function mainly in pregnancy they provide a conducive environment for the survival of the fetus and they also suppress the contraction of the smooth muscle of the uterus which plays a critical role in pregnancy.




Another steroid hormone is the estrogen which supresses the effect of progesterone and stimulate the growth of the myometrium these prepares the uterus for pregnancy estrogen is also responsible for the mammary gland development.



The other type of placental hormones which is the protien or protien based hormones includes the HCG or the human chorionic gonadotropin which is a definitive sign of pregnancy if present in high levels in the body.


All of these hormones play a critical role in pregnancy or child bearing and we wont be in this world without this very important hormones so Thank God and Thank mom for bearing us to this world.



Another GAme