Massive pulmonary embolism in pregnancy treated with catheter fragmentation and local thrombolysis.

Background: Catheter-directed thromboembolus fragmentation and thrombolysis is used with success for treatment of pulmonary embolism with hemodynamic decompensation in nonpregnant patients, but information on its use during pregnancy is limited. We report successful treatment of massive bilateral pulmonary emboli in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Case: A 29-year-old multigravida at 30 weeks of gestation presented with dyspnea, chest pain, heart palpitations, and syncope.

Dynamics of steroid biosynthesis during the luteal-placental shift in rhesus monkeys.

We studied the dynamics of steroid secretion during the luteal-placental shift of early pregnancy in rhesus monkeys. Daily blood samples were obtained from six pregnant rhesus monkeys during the cycle of conception and for the first 44 days of pregnancy to examine the relationships among aromatizable androgens, estrogens, progesterone (P), and CG in the peripheral circulation. To elucidate the biosynthetic mechanisms involved in the changes in hormonal patterns, minces of placentae and corpora lutea (CL) were incubated in vitro with [3H]pregnenolone ([3H]P5) and [3H]androstenedione ([3H]A), and steroid metabolites were isolated and identified by reverse isotope dilution.

The measurement of neuropeptide Y in discrete hypothalamic and limbic regions of male rhesus macaques with a human NPY-directed antiserum.

The distribution of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in microdissected brain regions of male macaques was quantified with a specific radioimmunoassay (RIA). The RIA consisted of a specific antiserum (R31) against human NPY that could detect 7 pg/tube with an IC50 of 125 pg/tube at a final dilution of 1:20,000. Varying amounts of rabbit and monkey mediobasal hypothalami yielded parallel [125I]NPY displacement curves in the assay and similar chromatographic elution profiles with those of synthetic human NPY.

Negative feedback regulation of gonadotropin secretion by androgens in fetal rhesus macaques.

Previously we described sex differences in circulating gonadotropin concentrations (greater in females) in fetal rhesus macaques, and demonstrated that these sex differences relate, at least in part, to the negative feedback actions of testicular secretions. A fully functional gonadal-hypothalamic-pituitary feedback relationship is present as early as Day 100 of gestation in fetal males because castration at this time results in a dramatic increase (greater than 10-fold) in fetal luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations. Although short-term (6-h) treatment of fetuses with testosterone (T) 3 wk after gonadectomy (GX) does not lower LH levels in males, it is completely effective in females.

A new antiserum with conformational specificity for LHRH: usefulness for radioimmunoassay and immunocytochemistry.

We have produced and characterized a new high titer, highly specific antiserum for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH), and demonstrated its usefulness for radioimmunoassay (RIA) and immunocytochemistry. The antiserum can be used at a final dilution of 1:500,000 to 1:600,000 for RIAs with a sensitivity of 0.2 pg/tube.