the purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of misoprostol and oxytocin for induction of labor. in this prospective and randomized controlled trial one hundred twenty women with an unfavorable cervix who underwent labor induction were assigned to receive either intravenous high dose oxytocin(6miu/min) or intravaginal misoprostol 50µg every 6 hours for two doses. twelve hour...

It has been hypothesised that the mechanisms modulating social affiliation are regulated by reward circuitry. Oxytocin, previously shown to support affiliative behaviour and the processing of socio-emotional stimuli, is expressed in areas of the brain involved in reward and motivation. However, limited data are available that test if oxytocin is directly involved in reward learning, or whether ...

Those of us who study physiology are tempted to hope that the experimental perturbations which we induce affect only the organ which has ensnared our interest. This review uses physiological systems which incorporate oxytocin as models to indicate some of the ways in which departure from such investigative paradise occurs, and also to discuss some of the implications of a physiology which uses ...

Recent studies have suggested that long-term oxytocin administration can alleviate the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, factors influencing its efficacy are still unclear. We conducted a single-center phase 2, pilot, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, clinical trial in young adults with high-functioning ASD, to determine whether oxytocin dosage and...

Jugular venous concentrations of oxytocin and progesterone changed in parallel during the oestrous cycle in the ewe, falling at luteal regression and rising with formation of the new corpus luteum. These fluctuations in the circulating concentration of oxytocin were not caused by changes in its metabolic clearance rate. On Days 6-9 of the cycle circulating oxytocin concentrations exhibited a di...

The mechanisms controlling pain in newborns during delivery are poorly understood. We explored the hypothesis that oxytocin, an essential hormone for labor and a powerful neuromodulator, exerts analgesic actions on newborns during delivery. Using a thermal tail-flick assay, we report that pain sensitivity is two-fold lower in rat pups immediately after birth than 2 days later. Oxytocin receptor...

Food intake activates neurones expressing prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) in the medulla oblongata and oxytocin neurones in the hypothalamus. Both PrRP and oxytocin have been shown to have an anorexic action. In the present study, we investigated whether the activation of oxytocin neurones following food intake is mediated by PrRP. We first examined the expression of PrRP receptors (also kno...

Nurse-midwives are sometimes required to intervene in the normal process of labor. Numerous clinical trials have investigated the use of prostaglandins for induction of labor. Research indicates the use of prostaglandins to be a safe and effective method of induction of labor with favorable results when compared with the more traditional use of oxytocin. Patient acceptance appears to be favorab...