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Journal Article 2001; 22(1): 33-37 PubMed PMID: 11335877 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Animals, Chick Embryo, Complement System Proteins:metabolism, Embryo, Mammalian:abnormalities, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Gestational Age, Humans, Maternal-Fetal Exchange, Models, Biological, Pregnancy:blood, Progesterone:blo.   

OBJECTIVE: In this paper the relation between progesterone levels and embryotoxic effect of serum complement was studied.

DESIGN: The aim of this study was to validate hypothesis that progesterone is strong inhibitor of complement embryotoxic action.

SETTING: We used chick embryo like an experimental model for evidence of our hypothesis. We treated chick embryos by sera acquired from healthy pregnant woman with physiologically elevated levels of progesterone and normal complement activity. We investigated embryotoxicity of these sera.

RESULT: We noticed a significant decrease of sera embryotoxicity inversely related to serum levels of progesterone. The main finding: The embryotoxicity of sera is reversally dependent on progesterone level.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings bring a new knowledge to the role of progesterone and complement system mainly in initial stages of pregnancy and in some cases of spontaneous abortions....

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Journal Article 2019; 39(7): 481-488 PubMed PMID: 30860679 Citation  Keywords:  Accidental Falls:statistics & numerical data, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Case-Control Studies, Czech Republic:epidemiology, Female, Hospitals:statistics & numerical data, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Risk Factors, Young Adult,.   

THEORY: Patients falls have a multifactorial character and typically have multiple causalities. GOAL: The goal of the study was to identify risk factors for falls of hospitalized patients. METHODOLOGY: This was a case-control study. The study included 222 patients who experienced a fall during their hospitalization (cases) and 1,076 patients who did not fall during their hospitalization (controls). The study involved four hospitals in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. The study took place during the 2017 calendar year. RESULTS: The average age of patients who experienced a fall was 77.9 years. The group of cases included 5-times more patients with a history of falls than the controls. Patients who fell were in higher risk of falls than patients in the control group at hospital admission. The group of cases also had a higher prevalence of confused and restless patients; however, the group did not include a statistically significantly higher number of incontinent patients, patients with eating and drinking disorders, or patients with intravenous therapy than the control group. CONCLUSION: Interventions aimed at prevention of falls should be included in care plans, especially for older patients, patients who have fallen in the past, patients who have movement restriction, patients with cognitive dysfunction, and patients with increased need of assistance with basic daily activities....

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