Abstract: Described is a method for in vitro diagnosing whether a pregnant woman has a risk for developing preeclampsia (PE) comprising the steps of determining the afamin content of the pregnant woman in a blood sample or a blood-derived sample, urine, amniotic and cerebrospinal fluid; or determining the content of afamin m-RNA in a liver tissue sample; and comparing the afamin content determined in the sample with a reference value.

Abstract: The present invention relates to means and methods for diagnosing or predicting endometriosis in a female subject. Particularly, the present invention relates to methods for determining the susceptibility to, predisposition for, presence of and/or risk of developing or suffering from endometriosis in a female subject. The present invention also relates to a kit useful for determining the risk of developing or suffering from endometriosis in a subject, a binding molecule specifically binding to the DBP GC*2 or DBP GC*1 allele product, and a binding molecule binding to the gene encoding the DBP GC*2 or GC*1 allele.

Abstract: The pharmaceutical preparations for treating side effects, such as hot flashes, prostate enlargement and gynecomastia, during and/or after treatment with analogs or antagonists of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRHa therapy) contain an effective amount of a chemically modified derivative of 17&agr;-estradiol, a chemically modified derivative of 17&bgr;-estradiol and/or a chemical modified derivative of estriol. Pharmaceutical preparations containing 14&agr;, 15&agr;-methylene-1,3,5(10),8-tetraene-3,17&agr;-diol are particularly preferred.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for determining the peptide hormone activities or the steroid hormone activities of a material or substance mixture involving the following steps: (a) presenting at least one starting cell with or without endogenous peptide hormone receptors or steroid hormone receptors; (b) transfecting the cell with a specific recombinant reporter gene construct, which has the ability to express a product that is induced and can be measured by the hormone activity of the material; (c) introducing a material to be examined into the transfected cell; (d) producing an easily determinable signal-generating reporter gene translation product through the transfected cell by using the inductive effect of the material on the hormone-reactive promoter situated before the reported gene; (e) measuring the reporter gene translation product of the transfected cell, and; (f) determining the hormone activity of the material from the measured result.

Abstract: The pharmaceutical preparations for treating side effects, such as hot flashes, prostate enlargement and gynecomastia, during and/or after treatment with analogs or antagonists of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRHa therapy) contain an effective amount of a chemically modified derivative of 17&agr;-estradiol, a chemically modified derivative of 17&bgr;-estradiol and/or a chemical modified derivative of estriol. Pharmaceutical preparations containing 14&agr;,15&agr;-methylene-1,3,5(10),8-tetraene-3,17&agr;-diol are particularly preferred.

Abstract: The pharmaceutical preparations for treating side effects, such as hot flashes, during and/or after treatment with analogs or antagonists of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRHa therapy) contain an effective amount of 17&agr;-estradiol, its chemically modified derivatives, chemically modified derivatives of 17&bgr;-estradiol or estriol.

Abstract: In a method for identifying a liquid secreted by a living subject, particularly amniotic fluid, the liquid is identified by means of its characteristic volatile constituents.