Search results for "Fetus"

Anti-fetal immune response mechanisms may be involved in the pathogenesis of placental abruption

2003

Placental abruption is an unpredictable severe complication in pregnancy. In order to investigate the possibility that the activation of the fetal nonadaptive immune system may be involved in the pathogenesis of this disease, IL-6 release from cord blood monocytes was examined by intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometric analysis. Our results demonstrate that preterm placental abruption (n = 15) in contrast to uncontrollable preterm labor (n = 33) is associated with significantly (P < 0.001) increased release of IL-6 from the fetal monocytes. The same holds true for rhesus disease (n = 9, P < 0.001) that is characterized by a maternal production of antibodies against the rhesus-D …

Astrocytes in culture express the full-length Trk-B receptor and respond to brain derived neurotrophic factor by changing intracellular calcium level…

2000

Abstract Although cultured astroglial cells were reported to express exclusively the truncated non-catalytic Trk B receptor for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), we detect here, using a sensitive ribonuclease protection assay, mRNAs for both truncated (TrkB–T) and the full length catalytic (TrkB–fl) form of BDNF receptor in developing cortical astrocytes and neurons in culture. Cortical neurons and immature astroglia, such as radial glia and proliferating astrocytes, express both the protein and mRNAs for TrkB-fl and TrkB-T, whereas the differentiation of astrocytes leads to a decrease in the trkB-fl mRNA, being the truncated TrkB the predominant receptor in differentiating and conf…

Trans-Abdominal Ultrasound Guided ERC in a Pregnant Woman With Bile Duct Stones

2014

Background: The change in lithogenicity of bile, increased stasis of bile and decreased gall bladder emptying are the possible reasons for an increased risk of gall stones during pregnancy. However, biliary interventions during pregnancy are associated with risks to both the pregnancy and developing fetus. ERC under fluoroscopic control as gold standard is associated with higher risk of premature labor and teratogenity. Methods and patient: We performed transabdominal ultra-sound guided ERC in one patient in the second trimenon with gall stones. While the hilus area is observed by ultrasound, the papilla is carefully cannulated with a guidewire. A contrast agent is applied in the common bil…

New Insights into the Anterior Complex

2020

&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Objective:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; To introduce visualization of the germinal matrix (GM), external angle of the frontal horn, and periventricular white matter while evaluating the anterior complex (AC) during basic ultrasound assessment of the fetal brain. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Case Presentations:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; This is a retrospective observational study of healthy women with singleton pregnancies, with no increased risk of fetal central nervous system anomalies, attending routine ultrasound screening at 20–32 weeks’ gestation. Seventeen cases are presented in which an abnormal aspect of the GM or external angle of the frontal horn or periventricular white matter on AC eval…

A combination of umbilical artery PI and normalized blood flow volume in the umbilical vein: Venous–arterial index for the prediction of fetal outcome

2008

Abstract Objective The objective was to assess the diagnostic power of the umbilical venous–arterial index (VAI) as a combination of the pulsatility index in the umbilical artery and the normalized blood flow volume in the umbilical vein for the prediction of poor fetal outcome. Study design This was a prospective clinical study in which the umbilical artery PI (UAPI), the normalized umbilical vein blood volume flow rate ( n UV; ml/min/kg estimated fetal body weight), the venous–arterial index (VAI; n UV/UAPI), and the pulsatility index (PI) in the umbilical artery (UA), uterine artery (utA), middle cerebral artery (MCA), and aorta were determined in 181 fetuses once (at between 17 and 41 w…

Valpromide is a poor inhibitor of the cytosolic epoxide hydrolase

1989

The effect of the antiepileptics valpromide and sodium valproate on the cytosolic epoxide hydrolase was studied in human fetal liver, kidneys and adrenals and from human adult liver and kidneys. Trans-stilbene oxide was used as substrate. Valpromide (10 mM) lowered the activity of the epoxide hydrolase to one half of the control in all organs studied. Sodium valproate (10 mM) was less powerful as an inhibitor than valpromide; however, it exerted a significant inhibition in all tissues studied.

Human Fetal Aorta Contains Vascular Progenitor Cells Capable of Inducing Vasculogenesis, Angiogenesis, and Myogenesis in Vitro and in a Murine Model …

2007

Vasculogenesis, the formation of blood vessels in embryonic or fetal tissue mediated by immature vascular cells (ie, angioblasts), is poorly understood. We report the identification of a population of vascular progenitor cells (hVPCs) in the human fetal aorta composed of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells that coexpress endothelial and myogenic markers. Under culture conditions that promoted cell differentiation, hVPCs gave rise to a mixed population of mature endothelial and mural cells when progenitor cells were stimulated with vascular endothelial growth factor-A or platelet-derived growth factor-betabeta. hVPCs grew as nonadherent cells and, when embedded in a three-dimensional collagen…

Long-Term Administration of High Dose Vitamin A to Rats Does Not Cause Fetal Malformations: Macroscopic, Skeletal and Physicochemical Finds

1996

A rat model was used to investigate whether high oral doses of vitamin A lead to fetal malformations and to what extent retinyl esters (RES) are transferred from the mother to the fetuses. Retinol and RES concentrations in plasma behave similarly in rats and humans. When high concentrations of vitamin A are administered, plasma retinol concentrations remain relatively constant, whereas plasma RES increased in parallel with the dose. To achieve an elevation from approximately 150 to > 1525 nmol x L(-1) in the experimental group before mating, female Ibm: RORO (spf) rats were fed a maintenance diet enriched with 15.2 x 10(3) retinol equivalents (RE) x kg(-1) at the start and increased stepwis…

Olfaction and behaviour: From fetus to infant to child

2010

Thymic transplantation for relief of immunodeficiency diseases.

1979

Tremendous advances have been made in replacement therapy regimens for the correction of immunodeficiency in transplant patients. Recently, cultured thymic fragments were shown to be devoid of lethal graft-versus-host cells and research in this area indicates that thymic transplantation may have a sustained positive effect in immunosuppressed patients.