Death of a 10-month-old boy after exposure to ethylmorphine.

Ethylmorphine, an opiate that is partially metabolized to morphine, is a common ingredient in antitussive preparations. We present a case where a 10-month-old boy was administered ethylmorphine in the evening and found dead in bed the following morning. Postmortem toxicological analyses of heart blood by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed the presence of ethylmorphine and morphine at concentrations of 0.

Decidual expression and maternal serum levels of heme oxygenase 1 are increased in pre-eclampsia.

Background: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is associated with increased oxidative stress and excessive maternal inflammatory response. Heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) is an important stress response enzyme and a mediator of cytoprotection against a wide variety of tissue injuries.

Methods: In the present study, microarray technology was used to compare the expression of HMOX1 and other genes involved in stress and inflammatory responses in decidua basalis from 16 pregnancies complicated by PE and 17 healthy controls.

Fetal growth restriction is associated with reduced FasL expression by decidual cells.

The Fas-Fas ligand (FasL) system contributes to immune tolerance at the feto-maternal site and has been ascribed a role in implantation and placental development by regulating trophoblast invasion and spiral artery remodelling. In the present study, we have examined FasL expression in decidual tissue from pregnancies with impaired placental development. Women with pre-eclampsia (PE) and/or fetal growth restriction (FGR) were enrolled as cases (n=33), and women with normal pregnancies were used as controls (n=27).

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)--standardised investigations and classification: recommendations.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) still accounts for considerable numbers of unexpected infant deaths in many countries. While numerous theories have been advanced to explain these events, it is increasingly clear that this group of infant deaths results from the complex interaction of a variety of heritable and idiosyncratic endogenous factors interacting with exogenous factors. This has been elegantly summarised in the "three hit" or "triple risk" model.

Serious foetal growth restriction is associated with reduced proportions of natural killer cells in decidua basalis.

Extravillous trophoblasts are major participants in placental development and remodelling of spiral arteries. Trophoblast invasion is regulated by maternal immune cells, and abnormal leucocyte subpopulation composition has been reported in implantation failure. In pre-eclampsia (PE), with or without foetal growth restriction (FGR), superficial trophoblast invasion and insufficient remodelling of spiral arteries are common findings.

Pre-eclampsia: associated with increased syncytial apoptosis when the infant is small-for-gestational-age.

The present investigation was undertaken to study the association between placental apoptosis and pre-eclampsia, discriminating between pre-eclamptic pregnancies with appropriate-, and small-for-gestational-age (SGA), infants. Twenty pregnancies with pre-eclampsia and SGA (birth weight at or below -2 standard deviations) infants were selected in a retrospective study. Subsequently, corresponding numbers of gestational age-matched pre-eclampsia cases with appropriate-gestational-age (AGA) (birth weight at or above the 50% centile) infants and AGA controls without pre-eclampsia were selected.