Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pathological autopsy practices in Japan.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, autopsies have provided valuable insights into the pathogenesis of COVID-19. The precise effect of this pandemic on autopsy procedures in Japan, especially in instances unrelated to COVID-19, has not yet been established. Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire survey from December 2020 to January 2021 regarding the status of pathological autopsy practices in Japan during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Successful Management of Complicated Uterine Displacement Caused by Unilateral Incarceration of the Bicornuate Uterus.

Uterine incarceration is a serious complication of pregnancy, in which the gravid uterus becomes trapped in the posterior pelvis. When labor occurs, delivery does not progress, and the uterus may rupture. Therefore, preoperative diagnosis of uterine incarceration is important, and a caesarian section is indispensable except when the polarity of the uterus can be successfully restored.

Assisted reproductive technology in Japan: a summary report for 2015 by The Ethics Committee of The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Purpose: The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG) implemented an assisted reproductive technology (ART) registry system in 1986. Here are reported the characteristics and treatment outcomes of ART cycles that were registered in 2015.

Methods: JSOG has requested all participating ART facilities to register cycle-specific information for all ART cycles since 2007.

Assisted reproductive technology in Japan: a summary report of 1992-2014 by the Ethics Committee, Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Aim: The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology implemented a registry report system for the clinical practice of assisted reproductive technology in 1986. The aggregated results from 1992 to 2014 are reported herein.

Methods And Results: The total number of registered treatments was 393 745 cycles, of which 66 550 were pregnancy cycles and 46 008 were cycles with a live birth.

Diversity of progesterone action on lipopolysaccharide-induced expression changes in cultured human cervical fibroblasts according to inflammation and treatment timing.

Problem: The effectiveness of progesterone (P4) treatment for preventing preterm births is unclear. Its effects on the uterine cervix were tested using cultured human uterine cervical fibroblasts (UCFs).

Method Of Study: UCFs were incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the presence or absence of P4 under various conditions.

Career satisfaction level, mental distress, and gender differences in working conditions among Japanese obstetricians and gynecologists.

Aim: Career satisfaction level, degree of mental distress associated with certain work-related factors, and demographics were examined for the first time in obstetricians and gynecologists in Japan.

Material And Methods: Associations between the score on Kessler 6 screening scale, or the job satisfaction level, and the scores on the job content questionnaire, Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), working conditions and demographics were examined in 1301 members of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Results: 8.

Risk perception of pregnancy promotes disapproval of gestational surrogacy: analysis of a nationally representative opinion survey in Japan.

Background: To clarify the relationship between the general attitude towards gestational surrogacy and risk perception about pregnancy and infertility treatment.

Materials And Methods: This study analysed the data of nationally representative cross-sectional surveys from 2007 concerning assisted reproductive technologies. The participants represented the general Japanese population.

Recovery from peripartum cardiomyopathy in a Japanese woman after administration of bromocriptine as a new treatment option.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a form of heart failure that occurs in women within 1 month before delivery and 5 months after delivery. The outcome of PPCM is variable but improves significantly when appropriate medication is administered in the acute phase; furthermore, the outcome does not worsen even after discontinuation of therapy in the chronic phase. The symptoms and signs of PPCM are similar to those of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Plasma adenosine concentrations increase in women with hyperemesis gravidarum.

Background: Adenosine is an important metabolic modulator and its concentrations are affected by sympathetic nerve stimulation and cytokine production. Since hyperemesis gravidarum is characterized by overactivation of sympathetic nerves and enhanced production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, plasma adenosine concentrations may be altered. The present study evaluated plasma adenosine concentrations and their relation with norepinephrine and TNF-alpha concentrations in hyperemesis gravidarum.

Resting oxygen consumption in patients with twin pregnancy.

Objective: This study examined the resting oxygen consumption in patients with a twin pregnancy and compared the results with those of singleton pregnancies.

Methods: In 15 patients with a twin and 26 patients with a singleton pregnancy, the resting oxygen consumption was measured using an open-circuit ventilatory system during the third trimester of pregnancy.

Results: The average resting oxygen consumption in patients with a twin pregnancy was 231+/-25 ml/min, significantly higher than that in patients with a singleton pregnancy (209+/-24 ml/min, P<0.

Plasma adenosine concentrations increase in women with hyperemesis gravidarum.

Background: Adenosine is an important metabolic modulator and adenosine concentrations are affected by sympathetic nerve stimulation and cytokine production. Since hyperemesis gravidarum is characterized by overactivation of sympathetic nerves and enhanced production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, plasma adenosine concentrations may be altered. The present study evaluated plasma adenosine concentrations and their relation with norepinephrine and TNF-alpha concentrations in hyperemesis gravidarum.

Intrauterine therapy for the acutely enlarging fetal cystic hygroma.

Enlarged fetal cystic hygroma is known to cause life-threatening complications such as fetal hydrops and neonatal respiratory difficulty. A 28-year-old Japanese woman, gravida 0, presented with fetal cystic hygroma at 23 weeks of gestation. There were no other structural malformations or hydrops detected by ultrasonographic examination.

Effects of maternal oxygen supplementation on fetal oxygenation and lipid peroxidation following a single umbilical cord occlusion in fetal goats.

Maternal oxygen supplementation is commonly performed to improve fetal oxygenation and acid-base balance during fetal asphyxia. The efficiency of this treatment is controversial, which may be associated with the production of oxygen free radicals and lipid peroxidation. However, only a few studies have been performed to evaluate these issues.

Fetal plasma prostaglandin F(2alpha) and cortisol responses to high-dose endotoxin administration in fetal goats.

Intrauterine inflammation/infection has been associated with prenatal mortality and morbidity. However, few studies have been performed to investigate how the fetus responds to intrauterine inflammation/infection in utero. In the present study, fetal plasma prostaglandin (PG) F(2alpha) and cortisol responses to high-dose fetal endotoxin administration were evaluated in late gestation goats (n=8).

Relation between plasma endothelin-1 levels and T helper-1:T helper-2 immunity in women with twin pregnancies.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between plasma ET-1 levels and T helper-1 (Th1):Th2 immunity in women with twin pregnancies. The percentage of Th1 and Th2 cells and the Th1:Th2 cell ratios in peripheral blood from 13 normal singleton pregnant women and 13 patients with twin pregnancies at 29-34 weeks' gestation were calculated using flow cytometry. The plasma ET-1 was also determined using a modified radioimmunoassay.

Basal metabolic rate in hyperemesis gravidarum: comparison to normal pregnancy and response to treatment.

Objective: The aim of the study was to measure resting minute ventilation and oxygen consumption in patients with hyperemesis gravidarum before and after treatment and to compare the results with those of normal pregnant women.

Study Design: Baseline evaluation was performed with the use of an open-circuit ventilatory system in 17 hospitalized patients with hyperemesis gravidarum and was repeated 1 week after treatment. Thirty-seven normal pregnant women served as control subjects.

Plasma 5'-nucleotidase activities and uric acid levels in women with pre-eclampsia.

The present study investigated plasma activity of 5'-nucleotidase, a key enzyme in the production of adenosine, in pre-eclampsia, and evaluated the relationship between changes in 5'-nucleotidase activity, and levels of uric acid, endproduct of the purine metabolism, and the severity of pre-eclampsia. We measured plasma 5'-nucleotidase activities and uric acid levels in women with 18 normal pregnancies, mild and severe pre-eclampsia. In mild and severe pre-eclampsia, plasma 5'-nucleotidase activities and uric acid levels were significantly increased compared with those in normal pregnancy (p < 0.

Serum adenosine deaminase activity in women with pre-eclampsia.

The present study investigated serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity and the patterns of two ADA isoenzymes, ADA1 and ADA2, and to evaluate the possible role of cell-mediated immunity as causes of the changes in ADA activity in pre-eclampsia. We measured serum activities of total ADA, ADA1 and ADA2 in pre-eclampsia (n = 22) and normal pregnancy (n = 22). Peripheral blood monocyte counts and neopterin levels, reflecting the activation of the monocyte-macrophage cell system, were also measured.

The T-helper 1/T-helper 2 balance in peripheral blood of women with hyperemesis gravidarum.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the T-helper 1/T-helper 2 balance and its relation with pregnancy-related hormones in hyperemesis gravidarum.

Study Design: The T-helper 1/T-helper 2 ratio and plasma progesterone and estrogen levels were examined in the peripheral blood of 22 women with hyperemesis gravidarum and normal pregnancies. The proportion of CD4-positive cells that expressed intracellular cytokines (interferon gamma and interleukin-4) were analyzed by blood flow cytometry.

Increased plasma adenosine concentrations and the severity of preeclampsia.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between changes in plasma adenosine and the severity of preeclampsia, and norepinephrine and tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentrations.

Methods: Plasma concentrations of adenosine, norepinephrine, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha relating to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia were measured in women with mild (n = 21) and severe (n = 21) preeclampsia and normal pregnancies (n = 21), matched for age, gestational age, and parity, in the third trimester of pregnancy. We then evaluated the relationships among plasma adenosine, norepinephrine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentrations, and the severity of preeclampsia.

Relationship between adenosine deaminase activity and cytokine-secreting T cells in normal pregnancy.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between plasma adenosine deaminase activity and the proportion of cytokine-secreting T cells as causes of changes in adenosine deaminase activity in normal pregnancy.

Methods: Plasma adenosine deaminase activity and the proportions of cytokine-secreting T cells were measured in the peripheral blood of 26 nonpregnant and normal pregnant women in the third trimester. The proportion of CD4-positive T cells secreting interferon-gamma derived from T helper 1 cells, and interleukin-4 derived from T helper 2 cells, were analyzed by flow cytometry.

Relation between maternal serum adenosine deaminase and plasma adenosine levels in twin pregnancies.

Objective: The relationship between adenosine deaminase activity and plasma adenosine was examined in non-pregnancy as well as in singleton and twin pregnancies.

Methods: Whole-blood samples were taken from 11 singleton and 11 dichorionic twin pregnant women during the third trimester. The plasma adenosine levels were assayed with a modified high-performance liquid chromatographic method, while the adenosine deaminase levels were measured enzymatically.

Plasma nitric oxide levels and the expression of P-selectin on platelets in preeclampsia.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation of plasma nitric oxide levels with the expression of P-selectin on platelets in preeclampsia.

Study Design: Plasma levels of nitrite and nitrate (the stable nitric oxide metabolites) and the expression of P-selectin on platelets (a platelet activation marker) were measured in 25 normal pregnant women and 25 women with preeclampsia. The effects of the inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis on the expression of P-selectin also was measured in vitro.

Serum adenosine deaminase activity in women with hyperemesis gravidarum.

Background: Serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity increases in diseases where cellular immunity is stimulated. Since hyperemesis gravidarum is characterized by enhanced cell-mediated immunity, serum ADA activity may be altered. The present study evaluated the relation between serum ADA activity and changes in cell-mediated immunity as causes of changes in ADA activity in hyperemesis gravidarum.