Prophylactic oral nifedipine to reduce preterm delivery: a randomized controlled trial in women at high risk.

Objective: To establish the efficacy of prophylactic nifedipine vs. placebo in reducing spontaneous preterm delivery in asymptomatic women at high risk for preterm delivery.

Design: Prospective multicentric randomized double-blind study.

Prenatal diagnosis and management of mild fetal pyelectasis: implications for neonatal outcome and follow-up.

Objectives: To describe the natural history of pyelectasis from its detection in the second trimester to delivery, its capability to predict renal pathology and whether prenatal development of pelvic dilatation is correlated to its postnatal evolution.

Study Design: A retrospective analysis involving 375 fetuses with a complete urological follow-up. Prenatal ultrasound was correlated with the results of postnatal investigation and frequency of postnatal surgery was established.

Surgical treatment of ureteral obstruction from endometriosis: our experience with thirteen cases.

Endometriosis is a biologically benign albeit aggressive pathology marked by high local recurrences. Ureteral involvement accounts for only a minority of cases (0.1-0.

[Role of Doppler velocimetry of uterine arteries and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in detecting pregnancies at risk for preeclampsia].

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) in association with Doppler velocimetry of uterine arteries in the detection of preeclampsia (PE).

Methods: In a prospective study, 22 patients at risk for the development of PE have been en-rolled: 17 were nulliparous women with increased resistances in uterine arteries at 24 weeks and 5 had an obstetric history of PE. All patients were tested with ABPM and uterine arteries Doppler velocimetry.

Clinical review of 55 cases of malignant ovarian germ cell tumors.

Purpose Of Investigation: A retrospective analysis of 55 cases of malignant germ cell tumors in a 20-year period was done to evaluate the impact of conservative surgery and adjuvant treatment on survival and fertility.

Methods: Fifty-five cases of malignant ovarian germ cell tumors (MOGCTs) were studied. Mean age was 22 years.

Androgens, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and carrier proteins (SHBG, IGFBP-3) in postmenopause.

Objective: To determinate the profile of androstenedione (A), total (T), and free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA-sulphate (DHEAS), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in non-smoking, postmenopausal women of normal weight and to search for correlations between hormones and carrier proteins and chronological age, number of years of postmenopause and age of onset of menopause.

Design: A group of 149 postmenopausal women aged 49 to 74 years were divided into three groups based on the number of years of postmenopause: 2-4 years (group A), 9-12 years (group B), and 19 years or more (group C). Seventy-two women aged 21 to 35 years were the controls.

Width of the fetal lateral ventricular atrium between 10 and 12 mm: a simple variation of the norm?

Objectives: The prognosis of borderline forms of anomalies that can be detected by ultrasound is one of the most challenging issues in prenatal diagnosis. The aim of this study was to determine the prognosis for fetuses presenting with isolated mild ventriculomegaly (MVM).

Methods: Fetuses in which the width of the lateral ventricular atria was 10-12 mm and which had no other detectable chromosomal or morphological anomalies were followed by monthly ultrasound examinations until delivery.

[Monitoring of pregnancy complicated by maternal-fetal isoimmunization. A comparison between two clinical protocols].

Aim: Invasive techniques such as amniocentesis and cordocentesis are used for the diagnosis and treatment of fetus at risk for anemia due to maternal red-cell alloimmunization. The purpose of this study was to determine the value of non invasive measurements of the peak velocity middle cerebral artery in the fetus (PVMCA) for the diagnosis of fetal anemia.

Methods: From 1996 to September 2002, we studied 23 pregnancies with anti D title >1:32.

Effect of betamethasone on computerized cardiotocographic parameters in preterm growth-restricted fetuses with and without cerebral vasodilation.

Objective: To verify the effects of maternal corticosteroid administration on fetal behavior and heart rate variation using computerized cardiotocography (cCTG) in a selected group of growth retarded fetuses.

Study Design: Fifty singleton pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction were enrolled in the study before 34 weeks of gestation. All of them received two intramuscular injections of 12 mg of betamethasone 24 h apart.

The use of two density gradient centrifugation techniques and the swim-up method to separate spermatozoa with chromatin and nuclear DNA anomalies.

Human semen is heterogeneous in quality, not only between males but also within a single ejaculate. Differences in quality are evident, both when examining the classical parameters of sperm number, motility and morphology and in the integrity of the sperm nucleus. The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of the PureSperm((R)), Percoll((R)) and swim-up preparation techniques to eliminate spermatozoa with nuclear anomalies.

Cytogenetic and molecular characterization of a highly repeated DNA sequence in the peach potato aphid Myzus persicae.

Electrophoresis following digestion of Myzus persicae genomic DNA with HindIII showed the presence of a prominent band of approximately 200 bp whereas a faint electrophoretic band corresponding to DNA fragments of about 3000 bp was observed after digestion with ApaI. In situ digestion with restriction enzymes, followed by in situ nick translation, showed that ApaI targets are localized at the nucleolus organizer-bearing X telomeric region, whereas HindIII restriction sites are clustered in intercalary C-positive areas on the same X chromosome. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) carried out by using digoxygenin-labeled HindIII repeats as probe fully confirmed overlapping between the hybridization sites of this probe and the AT-rich intercalary heterochromatic bands on the X chromosome.

Cisplatin-epirubicin-paclitaxel weekly administration in advanced breast cancer: a phase I study of the Southern Italy Cooperative Oncology Group.

Purpose: Both cisplatin and epirubicin have been shown to enhance the antitumor activity of paclitaxel in vitro. Weekly administration could result in a substantial improvement in the therapeutic index of cisplatin and paclitaxel. This study was aimed at determining the MTDs of epirubicin and paclitaxel given weekly with a fixed dose of cisplatin.

Successful application of indirect in-situ polymerase chain reaction to tissues fixed in Bouin's solution.

Aims: To evaluate the value of polymerase chain reaction-in situ hybridization (PCR-ISH) for the detection of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in paraffin sections of cervical biopsies fixed either in 10% formalin or in Bouin's solution.

Methods And Results: We analysed 40 biopsies from Italian women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV 1). In-situ hybridization techniques were performed with commercial biotinylated probes.

The role of rDNA genes in X chromosome association in the aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum.

Silver staining of mitotic metaphases of the aphid A. pisum reveals the presence of argentophilic bridges connecting the two X chromosomes. The presence of nucleolar material connecting sex chromosomes seems to be quite a common phenomenon in organisms belonging to very different phyla, and suggests a role of nucleolar proteins in chromosome association and disjunction.

The use of carbon-dioxide laser surgery in the treatment of intraepithelial neoplasia of the uterine cervix.

From October 1989 to June 1997, 1841 patients (pts) suffering from different diseases of the lower genital tract have been treated with CO2 laser surgery in our Institution: among them, 782 were affected by cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). All pts underwent CO2 laser procedure for CIN after adequate colposcopic evaluation of the entire lower genital tract, colposcopic guided biopsy of the lesion, adequate pre-surgical work-up for possible infectious and coagulation associated disease. In 736 (94.

NOR heteromorphism within a parthenogenetic lineage of the aphid Megoura viciae.

In parthenogenetic females of a clone of the aphid Megoura viciae (Homoptera, Aphididae), more than 50% of the cells show heteromorphism between homologous NORs which are located on one telomeric region of the two X chromosomes. Using different techniques, such as staining with the CG-specific fluorochrome chromomycin A3, silver staining and in-situ hybridization with an rDNA probe, we have shown that the observed heteromorphism is due to an unequal distribution of ribosomal genes between homologous NOR regions. The total number of rDNA genes per individual aphid remained constant.

Origin of DNA damage in ejaculated human spermatozoa.

The molecular basis of many forms of male infertility is poorly defined. One area of research that has been studied intensely is the integrity of the DNA in the nucleus of mature ejaculated spermatozoa. It has been shown that, in men with abnormal sperm parameters, the DNA is more likely to possess strand breaks.

[The heterogeneity of myocardial sympathetic innervation in normal subjects: an assessment by iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy].

123I-radiolabeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) cardiac imaging has been used to evaluate the distribution of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) in the heart. Different heart diseases have shown impaired cardiac SNS distribution as reflected by MIBG activity. The aim of this study was to assess the cardiac distribution of SNS in normal subjects, using MIBG imaging.

[Ultrasonography of the uterine cervix in pregnancy. Curve of normality in a longitudinal and cross-sectional study].

Background: The aim of the study was to establish a normality curve of cervical length variations during pregnancy in our pregnant women population, to be compared with pathological cases (risk of preterm labor and cervical incompetence).

Design: A prospective longitudinal and cross-sectional study in women with single pregnancy and without risk factors for preterm labor was carried on.

Setting: Obstetric and Gynecology Department, University of Brescia, Italy.

Chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer: four systematic meta-analyses of individual patient data from 37 randomized trials. Advanced Ovarian Cancer Trialists' Group.

The purpose of this systematic study was to provide an up to date and reliable quantitative summary of the relative benefits of various types of chemotherapy (non-platinum vs platinum, single-agent vs combination and carboplatin vs cisplatin) in the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. Also, to investigate whether well-defined patient subgroups benefit more or less from cisplatin- or carboplatin-based therapy. Meta-analyses were based on updated individual patient data from all available randomized controlled trials (published and unpublished), including 37 trials, 5667 patients and 4664 deaths.

'Dual positivity' for neural tube defects and down syndrome at maternal serum screening: gestational outcome.

Objective: To evaluate the gestational outcome of pregnancies screen-positive for both neural tube defects (NTD) and Down syndrome (DS) ('dual positivity').

Methods: Among 10,667 mid-trimester women screened for DS and NTD with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), unconjugated estriol (uE3), and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), delivered up to July 1996, we have selected cases with both an unexplained AFP value > or = 2.5 multiples of median (MoM) and a DS risk > or = 1:250.

In-situ competition between protamine and fluorochromes for sperm DNA.

In this study we investigated the relationship between the presence of bound protamine on mouse and human sperm DNA and the level of chromomycin A3 (CMA3) and 4'6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) fluorescence. This was accomplished by performing a competition assay between salmon protamine and fluorochromes on decondensed spermatozoa that had their nuclear proteins extracted and were fixed on slides. Various concentrations (0, 0.

DNA strand breaks in ejaculated human spermatozoa: comparison of susceptibility to the nick translation and terminal transferase assays.

The nick translation and terminal transferase assays have been compared to test their relative efficiency in detecting DNA breakage in ejaculated human spermatozoa. The results have been correlated with the percentage of chromomycin A3 positive sperm, a fluorochrome that is indicative of the protamination state of sperm. Examination of the ejaculated sperm of 30 subjects revealed that the percentage of positivity to the nick translation and terminal transferase assays did not differ, even when using different fixatives.