Category: Menstrual Health

The Science Behind Estrogen Withdrawal Bleeding: A Comprehensive Explanation

JiangRuoan

– Withdrawal bleeding
– Hormonal birth control
– Synthetic hormones
– Uterine lining
– Break period
– Regular period
– Medication
– Pregnancy test
– Doctor consultation
– Pill pack
– Active pills
– Inactive pills
– Estrogen
– Progestin
– Patches
– Vaginal rings
– Dr. John Rock
– Catholic Church’s opposition to contraceptives
– Indicator of pregnancy
– Safe sex
– Vaginal bleeding
– Menstrual period
– Health perspective
– Halt of hormone addition
– Timing of withdrawal bleeding
– Contraception methods.

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Estrogen: Unveiling Its Role, Benefits, and Health Implications

JiangRuoan

– Estrogen is a chemical messenger that plays a role in reproductive health for women or DFAB (designated female at birth)
– During puberty, estrogen levels rise and lead to the development of secondary sex characteristics
– Estrogen, along with other hormones, plays a role in the menstrual cycle, ovulation, and preparing the uterus for pregnancy
– Estrogen peaks during the days leading up to ovulation, making it the most fertile period for women
– Estrogen thins cervical mucus, making it easier for sperm to reach and fertilize an egg
– Estrogen keeps vaginal walls thick, elastic, and lubricated, reducing pain during sex
– During perimenopause and menopause, estrogen levels drop, leading to symptoms such as vaginal dryness, mood changes, and hot flashes
– Estrogen also affects the reproductive health of men or AMAB individuals, impacting sex drive, erectile function, and sperm production
– Too much or too little estrogen in AMAB individuals can lead to issues such as low sex drive, infertility, and gynecomastia
– Estrogen also has non-reproductive functions, regulating processes in the skeletal, cardiovascular, and central nervous systems that impact overall health.
– Low estrogen can delay puberty, slow or prevent sexual development, and cause symptoms such as painful sex, lower sexual desire, and hot flashes in perimenopause and menopause.
– Menopause and postmenopause result in the ovaries no longer producing estrogen, with fat cells taking over production.
– Removal or injury to the ovaries can also result in lower estrogen levels.
– People assigned male at birth (AMAB) with low estrogen may experience sexual dysfunction, belly fat, reduced sex drive, bone loss, and osteoporosis.
– For transgender women or nonbinary people with penises, low estrogen levels may affect physical appearance, and feminizing hormone therapy with estrogen may be an option. The article discusses the effects of estrogen hormone on physical features in individuals, including softer facial features, less body hair, and the development of breasts and hips.

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Octopuses: The Masters of Camouflage in the Ocean

JiangRuoan

– Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive diagnostic technique that provides a cross-sectional view of the retina.
– OCT was introduced in 1991 and has been used in ophthalmology and other fields.
– Time domain OCT acquires approximately 400 A-scans per second.
– Spectral domain technology scans 20,000-40,000 A-scans per second.
– Spectral domain systems have higher resolution and diminish the chance of missing lesions.
– Swept-source technology uses a wavelength-sweeping laser and can acquire 100,000-400,000 A-scans per second.
– OCT angiography is a recent development that uses motion contrast to detect blood flow.
– The term “band” refers to the three-dimensional structure of the retinal layers anatomically.
– The term “zone” describes regions on OCT where the anatomical correlation is not clearly delineated.
– The RPE (retinal pigment epithelium)/Bruch’s complex is one of the layers considered a zone because they are inseparable due to cellular interdigitation.
– Mirror artifacts in OCT occur when the area of interest crosses the zero delay line and result in an inverted image.
– Vignetting or cut edge artifact occurs when part of the OCT beam is blocked by structures like the iris, resulting in a loss of signal on one side of the image.
– Misalignment or off-center artifact occurs when the fovea is not properly aligned during a volumetric scan, leading to incorrect measurements.
– Out of Range Error or out of register artifact happens when the area of interest is not at the center of the image, leading to cutoff or improper positioning of structures.
– Blink artifacts result in partial loss of data due to momentary blockage of OCT image acquisition during blinking.
– Motion artifact occurs when there is movement of the eye during OCT scanning, leading to distortion or double scanning of the same area.
– Segmentation error can occur in horizontal scans when the software of the OCT machine automatically detects the border of the inner retina.
– Cystoid macular edema appears as multiple circular hyporeflective spaces in the retina.
– Senile retinoschisis involves a splitting of retinal layers at the outer plexiform layer.
– The “pearl necklace sign” is seen in exudative macular diseases and appears as hyperreflective dots arranged in a ring around the inner wall of cystoid spaces in the retina.
– Paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM) is characterized by a hyperreflective band at the level of the inner nuclear layer in OCT scans.
– Disruption of the ISOS line (separating the inner and outer segments of photoreceptor cells) is correlated with retinal function loss in various retinal disorders.
– The ILM drape sign is seen in macular telangiectasia 2 and occurs when a thin membrane overhangs a cystoid lesion at the base of the fovea

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