Patterns of evoked behaviour in twin pregnancies during the first 22 weeks of gestation.

The objective of this work was to investigate the emergence of intrapair stimulation between twin fetuses and the presence of possible changes in types and percentage of evoked patterns with advancing gestational age. The existence of intrapair stimulation would indicate the functioning of fetal tactile and proprioceptive sensibility. This was studied from video recordings of 30 min ultrasonographic observations of 8 twin pregnancies at 8, 9 and 10 weeks gestational age, of 20 twin pregnancies at 11, 12 and 13 weeks and of 20 twin pregnancies studied with 60 min observations at 15-16, 18-19 and 21-22 weeks.

Varying clinical course of large placental chorioangiomas. Report of 3 cases.

Three cases of placental chorioangiomas, from 6.5 to 10 cm in diameter, were diagnosed prenatally by ultrasound and color Doppler imaging at 21-34 weeks of gestation. In 1 case, due to fetal hydrops and maternal 'mirror syndrome', immediate delivery of a neonate, who was severely anemic, thrombocytopenic and had consumption coagulopathy, was required.

In fetuses with isolated hydronephrosis, urinary beta 2-microglobulin and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) have a limited role in the prediction of postnatal renal function.

Seventy-one fetal urine samples were taken from the bladder or renal pelvis of 33 fetuses at 13-36 weeks' gestation with a diagnosis of urinary tract anomaly. Severe isolated hydronephrosis in the absence of an enlarged bladder was the indication for sampling in 12/33 fetuses (26 samples), who were retrospectively classified into three groups: normal, intermediate, and dysplastic, based on the evaluation of postnatal renal function or histology. For all samples, urinary sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+), creatinine, beta 2-microglobulin, and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) were measured.

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital varicella infection.

Fourteen fetuses at risk of Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV) infection underwent prenatal diagnosis at 10-24 weeks' gestation by a combination of chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis, and fetal blood sampling. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was done on fetal and placental tissues, using primers which define a 221 bp region of the gene coding for the 44 kD protein of VZV. Positive cases were further analysed by dot blot hybridization, using radiolabelled DNA probes corresponding to the Hind III fragment VZV genome.

Changes in blood flow velocity waveforms following fetal blood sampling.

The umbilical artery, aorta, and middle cerebral artery pulsatility indices were investigated by pulsed Doppler ultrasound in 73 fetuses at 18-37 weeks of gestation, before and after fetal blood sampling performed either at the placental cord insertion (n = 46) or at the intrahepatic vein (n = 27). At the end of the procedure, after randomization, 35 fetuses were infused amounts of normal saline equal to the blood volume withdrawn, and 38 fetuses served as controls. Following blood sampling, the umbilical artery pulsatility indices decreased both in controls (p = 0.