The birth of a monstrous child throughout history: the example of anencephaly between the Egyptian New Empire and the 21st century.

Anencephaly is of special interest for the historical study of human behaviour after the birth of a monstrous child. Examples of anencephalic human births from Egyptian Antiquity to the present time allow us to create a history of teratology, revealing hiatuses in the medical and scientific interpretation of monstrosity that contrast to a relative continuity in the imaginary processes that accompany the birth of a monstrous child.

Endomysial fibrosis in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a marker of poor outcome associated with macrophage alternative activation.

There is considerable interindividual variability in motor function among patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD); moreover, pathogenetic mechanisms of motor dysfunction in DMD are not understood. Using multiparametric analysis, we correlated initial histologic alterations in quadriceps muscle biopsies from 25 steroid therapy-free patients with DMD with 13 relevant clinical features assessed by a single clinical team during a long-term period (mean, >10 years). There was no residual muscle dystrophin by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis in the biopsies.

Does the source of laser energy influence the coagulation of chorionic plate vessels? Comparison of Nd:YAG and diode laser on an ex vivo placental model.

Objectives: To compare the histological effects of diode and Neodymium-Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (Nd:YAG) laser coagulation of chorionic plate vessels.

Methods: In selected chorionic plate vessels in an ex vivo term placenta perfused with warm saline solution, diode (wavelength 940 nm) and Nd:YAG (wave length 1,064 nm) laser were used with an output of 30, 40, and 50 W, and 55 and 70 W respectively using preset energy and duration of impact. All vessels were examined histologically blindly to the procedures' characteristics.

Role of ATP-dependent potassium channels in pulmonary vascular tone of fetal lambs with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

High mortality in newborn babies with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is principally due to persistent pulmonary hypertension. ATP-dependent potassium (K(ATP)) channels might modulate pulmonary vascular tone. We have assessed the effects of Pinacidil, a K(ATP) channel opener, and glibenclamide (GLI), a K(ATP) channel blocker, in near full-term lambs with and without CDH.

Digestive endoscopy in neonates.

Since the introduction of flexible fiberoptic endoscopy in the early 1970s, esophagogastro-duodenoscopy and colonoscopy have become established procedures for the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of gastrointestinal tract disease in the pediatric population. The development of safe fiberoptic endoscopes specially designed for neonates has allowed visualization of lesions occurring in the first days of life. Despite an increased understanding of neonatal digestive disorders deriving from this new diagnostic modality, there is little consensus on the appropriate use of endoscopic procedures in routine care of neonates.

Meiotic studies of infertile men in case of non-obstructive azoospermia with normal karyotype and no microdeleted Y-chromosome precise the clinical couple management.

To identify meiotic criteria for infertility management in non-obstructive azoospermic men, a prospective and multicentric study was organized in Andrological Departments of Paris (France), Roma (Italy) and Budapest (Hungary). In 117 non-obstructive azoospermic men with normal karyotype and no Y-chromosome microdeletion, histology and meiotic studies on bilateral bipolar testicular biopsies were done. Histologically, 40 patients (34%) presented spermatocyte or spermatid arrest, 39 (33%) hypospermatogenesis whereas no meiotic cell could be observed in the remaining patients (33%).

Intervertebral disc degeneration: the role of the mitochondrial pathway in annulus fibrosus cell apoptosis induced by overload.

Degeneration of the intervertebral disk (IVD) is a major pathological process implicated in low back pain and is a prerequisite to disk herniation. Although mechanical stress is an important modulator of the degeneration, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. The association of human IVD degeneration, assessed by magnetic resonance imaging, with annulus fibrosus cell apoptosis and anti-cytochrome c staining revealed that the activation of the mitochondria-dependent apoptosome was a major event in the degeneration process.

Connections of the bladder plate and bladder neck with the bony pelvis in a fetus with classic bladder exstrophy.

Objectives: To demonstrate that the bladder plate and bladder neck in classic bladder exstrophy are laying on smooth muscle fibers that extend laterally to the pubic bones.

Methods: We compared a male fetus of 28 weeks' gestational age with classic bladder exstrophy with a normal fetus of the same age. The specimens were divided into two parts by a midsagittal section, from the bladder neck to the membranous urethra.