Glutathione prevents preterm parturition and fetal death by targeting macrophage-induced reactive oxygen species production in the myometrium.

Preterm birth is an inflammatory process resulting from the massive infiltration of innate immune cells and the production of proinflammatory cytokines in the myometrium. However, proinflammatory cytokines, which induce labor in vivo, fail to induce labor-associated features in human myometrial cells (MCs). We thus aimed to investigate if reactive oxygen species (ROS) production could be the missing step between immune cell activation and MC response.

Changes in maternal blood inflammatory markers as a predictor of chorioamnionitis: a prospective multicenter study.

Problem: To evaluate the inflammatory pattern in maternal circulation from women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) considering the occurrence of histologically confirmed chorioamnionitis (HCA).

Method Of Study: A prospective study was conducted in 121 women with PPROM between 24 and 34 + 0 weeks of gestation. Association between white blood cells (WBC) count, plasma CRP, IL-6, MCP-1 and IP-10 levels, and HCA was assessed.

Clinical presentation and outcome of 20 fetuses with parvovirus B19 infection complicated by severe anemia and/or fetal hydrops.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the prognosis of parvovirus B19 infection with severely anemic and/or hydropic fetuses according to initial ultrasound and biological criteria.

Material And Methods: Retrospective study of 20 cases of congenital parvovirus B19-proven infection (positive PCR) complicated by fetal anemia and/or hydrops was examined. Anemia was suspected on an elevated peak systolic velocity of the middle cerebral artery and was confirmed by fetal blood sampling.

Fetal anemia as a signal of congenital syphilis.

An upsurge in syphilis has been observed almost everywhere over the past decade. The mother's clinical presentation is often uninformative. The diagnosis of maternal syphilis infection is most often based on serologic tests that allow early Extencilline treatment.

Systemic increase in human maternal circulating CD14+CD16- MCP-1+ monocytes as a marker of labor.

Objectives: To study the influence of pregnancy and labor on the proportion and level of activation of monocyte subpopulations in human pregnancy.

Study Design: Peripheral blood samples were obtained from healthy nonpregnant women (n = 6); women in the third-trimester of healthy pregnancies (n = 18) and women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (n = 46), just before delivery for the last 2 groups. Monocyte subpopulations were characterized by flow cytometry using CD14, CD16, and activation level using macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and CCR2 antibodies.

Reference ranges and distribution of placental volume by 3-dimensional virtual organ computer-aided analysis between 11 weeks and 13 weeks 6 days.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility, reproducibility, and distribution of placental volume measurements according to the crown-rump length between 11 weeks and 13 weeks 6 days.

Methods: Images were acquired in 128 pregnancies followed in Burgundy during first-trimester screening sonography using an abdominal 3-dimensional transducer. The placental volume was then calculated by the virtual organ computer-aided analysis method with a rotation angle of 30° by a single operator.

Practice guidelines for prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in obstetric sonography.

Ergonomics and prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in obstetric sonography is a subject seldom discussed. However, 80% of sonographers describe pain when performing these examinations. The consequences of these disorders can range from impaired quality of life to the complete cessation of professional activity.

Phenotypic spectrum of fetal Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome.

The Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an autosomal recessive multiple congenital malformation syndrome caused by dehydrocholesterol reductase deficiency. The diagnosis is confirmed by high 7- and secondarily 8-dehydrocholesterol levels in plasma and tissues and/or by detection of biallelic mutations in the DHCR7 gene. The phenotypic spectrum of SLOS is broad, ranging from a mild phenotype combining subtle physical anomalies with behavioral and learning problems, to a perinatally lethal multiple malformations syndrome.

Ultrasound markers for the detection of women at risk of developing pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a consequence of an abnormal placental invasion. Uterine artery Doppler (Ut-AD) is directly related to trophoblastic invasion of the spiral arteries, which occurs before 18 weeks’ gestation. A correct interpretation of Ut-AD indices and waveform patterns requires a rigorous and standardized methodology, in particular for the definition of notches.

Management of very early fetal anemia resulting from red-cell alloimmunization before 20 weeks of gestation.

Objective: To evaluate the results of management of very early fetal anemia (before 20 weeks of gestation) in cases of red-cell alloimmunization.

Methods: Retrospective study of the outcome of all in utero transfusions performed before 20 weeks of gestation and all pregnancies requiring an in utero transfusion before 20 weeks in our reference center from January 1990 through August 2011 in cases with severe alloimmunization.

Results: Twenty-five in utero transfusions were performed in 18 pregnancies in 16 patients during the study period.

RET and GDNF mutations are rare in fetuses with renal agenesis or other severe kidney development defects.

Background: The RET/GDNF signalling pathway plays a crucial role during development of the kidneys and the enteric nervous system. In humans, RET activating mutations cause multiple endocrine neoplasia, whereas inactivating mutations are responsible for Hirschsprung disease. RET mutations have also been reported in fetuses with renal agenesis, based on analysis of a small series of samples.

Successful pregnancy with the use of nitric oxide donors and heparin after recurrent severe preeclampsia in a woman with scleroderma.

We report the case of a woman with scleroderma who had severe, early-onset preeclampsia on 2 consecutive pregnancies. With a treatment that included aspirin, heparin, and a nitric oxide donor, her third pregnancy ended with a healthy neonate at term. Nitric oxide donors and heparin may play a preventive role on placental dysfunction in scleroderma.