Search results for " FET"
showing 10 items of 163 documents
Bone morphogenetic protein-4 is required for mesoderm formation and patterning in the mouse.
1995
Bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) is a member of the TGF-beta superfamily of polypeptide signaling molecules, closely related to BMP-2 and to Drosophila decapentaplegic (DPP). To elucidate the role of BMP-4 in mouse development the gene has been inactivated by homologous recombination in ES cells. Homozygous mutant Bmp-4tm1blh embryos die between 6.5 and 9.5 days p.c., with a variable phenotype. Most Bmp-4tm1blh embryos do not proceed beyond the egg cylinder stage, do not express the mesodermal marker T(Brachyury), and show little or no mesodermal differentiation. Some homozygous mutants develop to the head fold or beating heart/early somite stage or beyond. However, they are development…
Are antiphospholipid antibodies an essential requirement for an effective immune response to infections?
2007
Antiphospholipid antibodies show a close association to a variety of infections. Recent data implicate that parvovirus B19 may be used as a model-system for studying the interaction of viral infection and the development of these autoantibodies. B19-related diseases commonly associated with the acute infection show flu-like symptoms, transient arthralgias, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, and, in pregnant women, spontaneous abortion and hydrops fetalis. Hepatitis, myocarditis, meningitis, encephalitis, as well as pure red cell anemia may occur occasionally. In addition, parvovirus B19 infections have been frequently described as the cause or trigger of various forms of autoimmune diseases a…
Molecular detection of TP53, Ki-Ras and p16INK4A promoter methylation in plasma of patients with colorectal cancer and its association with prognosis…
2006
BACKGROUND:Despite the improvement in detection and surgical therapy in the last years, the outcome of patients affected by colorectal carcinoma (CRC) remains limited by metastatic relapse. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of free tumor DNA in the plasma of CRC patients in order to understand its possible prognostic role. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ki-Ras, TP53 mutations and p16(INK4A) methylation status were prospectively evaluated in tumor tissues and plasma of 66 CRC patients. RESULTS: In 50 of the 66 primitive tumor cases (76%) at least one significant alteration was identified in Ki-Ras and/or TP53 and/or p16(INK4A) genes. Eighteen of the 50 patients presented the same …
Oral administration of pharmacological doses of Vitamins C and E reduces reproductive fitness and impairs the ovarian and uterine functions of female…
2002
This study aims to ascertain whether oral administration of pharmacological doses of Vitamins C and E has any detrimental effect on reproductive fitness of female mice. We fed hybrid female mice from the first day of weaning a standard diet supplemented or not supplemented with pharmacological doses of Vitamins C and E. At the age of 28 weeks, we individually caged females with a male for the rest of their reproductive life. We performed a series of mating experiments to ascertain the number of oocytes ovulated and the potential for embryo development in vitro to the blastocyst stage and in vivo to Day 12 of gestation. The antioxidant diet decreased the frequency of litters, litter size, to…
Prenatal diagnosis of infantile neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis: a combined electron microscopic and molecular genetic approach.
1995
Based on two unrelated index patients afflicted with INCL, fetal chorion tissues were studied from subsequent pregnancies of the two respective mothers resulting in the prenatal diagnosis of INCL in two of the three pregnancies. Documentation of INCL was based on electron microscopy and DNA studies of the biopsied chorion tissue, later confirmed in the two affected fetuses after termination of their pregnancies by demonstrating INCL-specific lipopigments in post-mortem tissues, in the liver of both aborted fetuses and, additionally, in spleen and skeletal muscle of one of the affected fetuses. The autolysis of the aborted tissues, however, precluded a systematic documentation of all affecte…
Lysosomal storage disorder in non-immunological hydrops fetalis (NIHF) - more common than assumed? Report of four cases with transient NIHF and a rev…
2012
Abstract Background Lysosomal storage disorders (LSD) are a rare cause of non immunological hydrops fetalis (NIHF) and congenital ascites. The reported incidence is about 1%. The incidence of idiopathic NIHF is estimated to be about 18%. Patients and methods We report four cases with transient hydrops fetalis resulting from LSD and performed a literature review on LSD with NIHF and congenital ascites in combination. Results At present, 12 different LSDs are described to be associated with NIHF or congenital ascites. Most patients had a family history of NIHF, where the preceding sibling had not been examined. A diagnostic approach to the fetus with NIHF due to suspected LSD either in utero …
Prevalence of microcephaly in Europe: population based study.
2016
Objectives: Microcephaly is a congenital anomaly where the baby’s head is smaller than expected when compared with babies of the same sex, age and ethnicity. Many of these babies will have underdeveloped brains. This study aimed to provide contemporary estimates of the prevalence of microcephaly in Europe, determine if the diagnosis of microcephaly is consistent across Europe and to evaluate whether changes in prevalence would be detected using the current European surveillance performed by EUROCAT (the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies). Design: A questionnaire and a population-based, observational study Setting: 24 EUROCAT registries covering 570,000 births annually in 15 coun…
Fetuin-A serum levels are not correlated to kidney function in long-lived subjects
2012
Objectives: Serum Fetuin A has been identified as an inhibitor of ectopic calcification. It is reduced in subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and it has been proposed as a potential link between CKD and the higher prevalence of arterial calcification observed in these patients. During ageing both the stiffening of arterial wall due to calcification and a decline in kidney function are frequent. The aim of the study is to investigate if Fetuin A serum levels are associated with ageing and with AHSG T256S polymorphism. Moreover, we aim at investigate whether serum Fetuin A is correlated to kidney function in this setting of senescence. Design and Methods: 256 health long-lived subjects…
Selective Transarterial Chemoembolization of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinomas: A Reasonable Palliative Option
2008
Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to provide information concerning the performance of selective transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) as a palliative treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), also in the case of multifocal lesions. Patients and methods We reviewed prospectively collected data on 43 patients with cirrhosis and HCC who underwent selective TACE as a palliative treatment. Patients were assigned to one of two groups: (1) those with one to three HCC lesions, and (2) those with four or more HCC lesions. Results One hundred and two TACE sessions were applied in 43 patients. There were 39 men and 4 women with a mean age of 65.5 ± 8.273 years. Alpha…
Effect of dietary supplementation with a mixture of Vitamins C and E on fertilization of tertiary butyl hydroperoxide-treated oocytes and parthenogen…
2002
The present study aims to analyze the effect of dietary supplementation with a mixture of Vitamins C and E on fertilization and later development of tertiary butyl hydroperoxide (tBH)-treated mouse oocytes and on parthenogenetic activation of freshly ovulated mouse oocytes. We fed hybrid mice a standard diet supplemented or not supplemented with Vitamins C and E from the first day of weaning until the age of 12 weeks. We noted no significant effect of diet on fertilization rate, percentage of total and hatching blastocysts, total number of cells, mitotic index and percentage of apoptotic nuclei at 120 h post-insemination of oocytes incubated for 15 min in the presence of 0, 1, 5 and 10 micr…