European guidelines on perinatal care- Peripartum care Episiotomy.

OF RECOMMENDATIONS1. Episiotomy should be performed by indication only, and not routinely (. Accepted indications for episiotomy are to shorten the second stage of labor when there is suspected fetal hypoxia ; to prevent obstetric anal sphincter injury in vaginal operative deliveries, or when obstetric sphincter injury occurred in previous deliveries (2.

European Guidelines on Perinatal Care - Oxytocin for induction and augmentation of labor[Formula: see text].

OF RECOMMENDATIONS1. Oxytocin for induction or augmentation of labor should not be started when there is a previous scar (such as previous classical cesarean section, uterine perforation or myomectomy when uterine cavity is reached) or in any other condition where labor or vaginal delivery are contraindicated. (; ).

Fetal electrocardiography ST-segment analysis for intrapartum monitoring: a critical appraisal of conflicting evidence and a way forward.

Background: In the past century, some areas of obstetric including intrapartum care have been slow to benefit from the dramatic advances in technology and medical care. Although fetal heart rate monitoring (cardiotocography) became available a half century ago, its interpretation often differs between institutions and countries, its diagnostic accuracy needs improvement, and a technology to help reduce the unnecessary obstetric interventions that have accompanied the cardiotocography is urgently needed.

Study Design: During the second half of the 20th century, key findings in animal experiments captured the close relationship between myocardial glycogenolysis, myocardial workload, and ST changes, thus demonstrating that ST waveform analysis of the fetal electrocardiogram can provide information on oxygenation of the fetal myocardium and establishing the physiological basis for the use of electrocardiogram in intrapartum fetal surveillance.

C-reactive protein in ischemic stroke and its etiologic subtypes.

The possible role of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the etiology and prognosis of ischemic stroke remains to be clearly defined. The purpose of this study was to determine whether CRP levels are elevated in patients with stroke, whether they remain persistently elevated, and whether CRP levels are higher in patients with etiologic subtypes of stroke caused by large or small artery disease ("atherogenic hypothesis") or whether they may be higher in patients with more extensive cerebral infarction caused by large artery or cardiogenic embolism ("inflammatory hypothesis"). We conducted a case-control study of 199 hospital cases with a first-ever ischemic stroke and 202 randomly selected community controls.

Polymorphisms in the tissue factor pathway inhibitor gene are not associated with ischaemic stroke.

The present study aimed to determine whether four previously described polymorphisms found within the tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) gene are associated with free plasma TFPI levels or with TFPI activity as well as the risk of ischaemic stroke in stroke patients and control individuals. We conducted a case-control study of 162 first-ever ischaemic stroke cases and 170 randomly selected community control individuals. The TFPI genotype was determined for the T-287C, C-399T, Intron 7 C-33T, and Val264Met (G874A) polymorphisms.

Protein Z in ischemic stroke and its etiologic subtypes.

Background And Purpose: Protein Z is a vitamin K-dependent plasma protein whose significance in arterial thrombosis remains uncertain. The objectives of this study were to determine the association between protein Z, ischemic stroke, and etiologic subtypes of ischemic stroke.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study of 173 hospital cases of first-ever ischemic stroke and 186 randomly selected community controls.

Generation of anti-idiotypic reagents in the EGFRvIII tumor-associated antigen system.

The use of anti-idiotype (anti-id) vaccines for immunotherapy of human cancers is attractive, as immunization with true anti-id reagents (Ab2 beta) has been shown to induce both cellular and humoral immunity, frequently when the original antigen does not, or when a state of anergy to the self-expressed tumor-associated antigen exists. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of an anti-id vaccine approach to the glioma-associated antigen epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) for human clinical trials. By using conventional methodology, seven rat mAbs specific for the binding site of the murine anti-EGFRvIII-specific mAb Y10, as defined by the ability to inhibit the binding of mAb Y10 to EGFRvIII expressed on cells or as purified protein, were generated, and a subset (3/7) was found to be true Ab2 beta, as defined by the ability to induce the formation of antibody directed against EGFRvIII in two species (mouse and rabbit) when used as immunogen.