Renal Failure in Pregnancy.

Renal failure during pregnancy affects both mother and fetus, and may be related to preexisting disease or develop secondary to diseases of pregnancy. Causes include hypovolemia, sepsis, shock, preeclampsia, thrombotic microangiopathies, and renal obstruction. Treatment focuses on supportive measures, while pharmacologic treatment is viewed as second-line therapy, and is more useful in mitigating harmful effects than treating the underlying cause.

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia following immunization with the hepatitis B vaccine: another angle of the 'autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvants' (ASIA).

The objectives of this study were to gather information regarding demographic and clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with either fibromyalgia (FM) or chronic fatigue (CFS) following hepatitis B vaccination (HBVv) and furthermore to apply the recently suggested criteria of autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) syndromes induced by adjuvants (ASIA), in the aim of identifying common characteristics that may suggest an association between fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and HBV vaccination. Medical records of 19 patients with CFS and/or fibromyalgia following HBVv immunization were analyzed. All of which were immunized during 1990-2008 in different centers in the USA.

The new H1N1 and HPV vaccines and old fears.

Purpose Of Review: Vaccines remain an effective yet controversial method for preventing infectious diseases like those caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) and pandemic influenza (H1N1). However, reports of postvaccination serious adverse events such as autoimmunity, although rare, have caused great concerns among the general public. We aimed to summarize the recent knowledge regarding such interactions, mainly focusing on these new vaccines.

Role of activin, transforming growth factor-beta and bone morphogenetic protein 15 in regulating zebrafish oocyte maturation.

The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily is a large group of peptide growth and differentiation factors that have important functions in many physiological processes, including reproduction. We previously reported that several members of the TGF-beta superfamily, including activin-A, bone morphogenetic protein-15 (BMP-15) and TGF-beta1, regulate oocyte maturation in zebrafish. The aim of this study was to further examine the functions and mechanisms of these growth factors in regulating zebrafish oocyte maturation.

Inhibition of premature oocyte maturation: a role for bone morphogenetic protein 15 in zebrafish ovarian follicles.

Bone morphogenetic protein-15 (BMP-15) is a member of the TGF-beta superfamily known to regulate ovarian functions in mammals. Recently, we cloned zebrafish BMP-15 (zfBMP-15) cDNA and demonstrated that it may play a role in oocyte maturation. In this study, we further investigated the role of BMP-15 in zebrafish follicular development and oocyte maturation using an antiserum developed for zfBMP-15 and by microinjection of follicles with antisense zfBMP-15 N-morpholino oligonucleotides or an expression construct containing zfBMP-15 cDNA.