Low Vitamin B(12) level as a risk factor for very early recurrent abortion.

Objective: To examine the relationship between Vitamin B(12) deficiency and early recurrent abortion (ERA) or very early recurrent abortion (VERA) abortion around 5 weeks of amenorrhea.

Study Design: Serum B(12), folate and homocysteine levels were carried out in 110 consecutive women with unexplained ERA or VERA and in 96 women with one or more children and no abortion history.

Results: Ten women were found to have low serum B(12) levels versus one in the control group.

IFN-gamma induces apoptosis in mouse embryonic stem cells, a putative mechanism of its embryotoxicity.

It has been reported that interferon (IFN)-gamma should inhibit in vitro mouse embryo growth by direct cell toxicity. However, the mechanism involved has not been clearly established. In the present study, this question was addressed using the embryonic stem (ES) cell model.

Fas-mediated apoptosis of mouse embryo stem cells: its role during embryonic development.

Problem: Fas antigen (APO-1/CD95) can regulate the activity of various cells during adulthood. This study aimed at determining whether Fas may also be involved in the regulation of very early events such as the embryo preimplantation stage.

Method Of Study: We used mouse embryo stem (ES) cell line as a model for testing the effect of Fas crosslinking upon anti-Fas monoclonal antibody (MoAb) treatment.

Habitual abortions in 678 healthy patients: investigation and prevention.

The objective of this study of patients with habitual abortion (HA), was to determine their autoimmune profile and to try to prevent new abortions using low-dose aspirin for 7 months with prednisone in the first trimester only, or with low-dose aspirin alone. A total of 678 healthy patients with three or more HA were investigated for antiphospholipid antibodies, antinuclear and antithyroid antibodies. Among these patients, 277 pregnant women were treated, 214 were given prednisone and aspirin (161 autoantibody-negative and 53 autoantibody-positive women), and 63 autoantibody-negative women received aspirin alone.

[Embryotoxic factors and recurrent spontaneous abortions].

About 30% of recurrent spontaneous abortions remain unexplained by traditional or biological anomalies. The purpose of this work was to investigate embryotoxic factors produced by trophoblast stimulated lymphocytes from women with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion. The samples from 36 women with recurrent abortion before and during the next pregnancy and from 7 women with normal pregnancies and no history of spontaneous abortion have been tested.