Expression and actions of corticotropin-releasing factor/diuretic hormone-like peptide (CDLP) and teneurin C-terminal associated peptide (TCAP) in the vase tunicate, Ciona intestinalis: Antagonism of the feeding response.

Teneurin C-terminal associated peptide (TCAP) is a neuropeptide that bears some structural similarity to the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family of peptides. TCAP and CRF are both implicated in the regulation of stress-related behaviors, as established in rodent models. However, in vertebrates, both TCAP and CRF possess three additional paralogous forms making vertebrate models difficult to assess with respect to TCAP-CRF interaction.

Prenatal diagnosis and molecular cytogenetic characterization of mosaicism for a small supernumerary marker chromosome derived from ring chromosome 2.

Objective: To present prenatal diagnosis and molecular cytogenetic characterization of mosaicism for a small supernumerary marker chromosome (sSMC) derived from ring chromosome 2 [r(2)].

Methods And Results: A 35-year-old woman underwent amniocentesis at 17 weeks of gestation, because of advanced maternal age. Amniocentesis revealed a de novo ring-shaped sSMC in 11 of 23 colonies of cultured amniocytes.

Conjoined twins detected in the first trimester: a review.

Conjoined twinning occurs in 1 in 100 sets of monozygotic twins, 1 in 50,000 gestations or 1 in 250,000 live births. With the advent of ultrasound technology, prenatal diagnosis of conjoined twins is possible. This article provides a comprehensive review of conjoined twins detected in the first trimester including fetal gender, maternal age, parity, types of fusion, related ultrasound abnormalities, perinatal outcome and association with assisted reproduction.