High glucose levels reduce fatty acid oxidation and increase triglyceride accumulation in human placenta.

Placentas of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) exhibit an altered lipid metabolism. The mechanism by which GDM is linked to alterations in placental lipid metabolism remains obscure. We hypothesized that high glucose levels reduce mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and increase triglyceride accumulation in human placenta.

Cardiac biometry and function in euploid fetuses with intracardiac echogenic foci.

Objective: To compare cardiac biometry and function between fetuses with and without intracardiac echogenic foci (ICEF).

Methods: One hundred and fifty-two fetuses with ICEF were compared with 104 controls. Diastolic ventricular transverse diameters, systolic aortic and pulmonary diameters and interventricular septum were measured.

Inflammation and cardiovascular risk in women with preterm labor.

Background: Women with a history of preterm delivery have about twice the normal risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationships between selected metabolic CVD risk factors and markers of both systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in women with spontaneous preterm labor (sPL).

Decreased mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation in placentas from women with preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality in high and low-income countries. The aetiology of preeclampsia is multifactorial and remains obscure. Some evidences suggest that altered placental fatty acid oxidation might play a role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

Transformed alpha-fetoprotein (t-AFP) levels in women with threatened preterm labor.

Background/aims: To evaluate maternal serum transformed alpha-fetoprotein (MSt-AFP) levels, a new molecular conformation of AFP was used in cases of threatened preterm labor (TPL).

Methods: Prospective case-control study. Maternal serum levels of classical AFP and transformed AFP (t-AFP) were compared between 2 groups matched by gestational age: 25 women with TPL and 25 healthy pregnant women as controls.

Spinal Cord Stimulation and Thalamic Pain: Long-term Results of Eight Cases.

Objectives. We submit a retrospective analysis of results of eight patients suffering from intractable pain of established or suspected thalamic origin. These patients were treated with spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in the cervical or dorsal cord.

Three-dimensional power Doppler analysis of cerebral circulation in normal and growth-restricted fetuses.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate fetal cerebral circulation by using three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasound in normal and growth-restricted fetuses. A total of 100 normal grown fetuses were compared with other 25 with growth restriction (FGR). Three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasound was used to assess fetal cerebral 3D vascular indices: vascularization index, flow index (FI), and vascularization flow index (VFI).

Maternal and fetal serum transformed alpha-fetoprotein levels in normal pregnancy.

Aim: To evaluate transformed alpha-fetoprotein (t-AFP) (a new molecular conformation of alpha-fetoprotein) levels in maternal serum and fetal serum in normal pregnancy.

Methods: Prospective longitudinal study. Fifty pregnant women were studied in two groups: 25 were evaluated in each trimester of pregnancy and near term (12, 20, 32 and 36 weeks) and the other 25 were evaluated at the time of planned cesarean section at term.

Vulvar leiomyosarcoma in Bartholin's gland area: a case report and literature review.

Background: Malignant tumours of the vulvar soft tissue are very uncommon. When localized in the Bartholin's gland area these tumours can be mistaken for benign lesions, leading to a delayed diagnosis.

Case: A 52-year-old woman presenting with a vulvar nodule, which was diagnosed as a Bartholin's gland cyst and was referred to the hospital for surgical excision of the lesion.

Acute pseudoaneurysm of the femoral artery after repeated trauma in full-contact karate practice.

Traumatic pseudoaneurysms of the deep femoral artery are only encountered infrequently in sports medical literature. We present the case of a male who, after practising full-contact karate, experienced pain and oedema in the right thigh. The ultrasound results and the arteriography showed the presence of a pseudoaneurysm in a branch of the deep femoral artery.

Chondrosarcoma of the uterus: case report and literature review.

Background: Pure heterologous sarcomas of the uterine corpus are extremely rare, accounting for 4% of all uterine sarcomas. Primary chondrosarcoma, which is characterized by the absence of epithelial or other heterologous mesenchymal elements, is included in this group. To this date, only 17 cases, including the presenting case, have been reported.

Effects of antenatal betamethasone on human fetal branch pulmonary artery flow velocity waveforms.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of antenatal betamethasone on fetal branch pulmonary artery flow velocity waveforms.

Methods: Betamethasone 12 mg i.m.

Ultrasound evaluation of visceral fat and metabolic risk factors during early pregnancy.

Objective: The objective was to study the relationships between ultrasound estimated visceral fat and metabolic risk factors during early pregnancy.

Research Methods And Procedures: Thirty consecutive healthy pregnant women at 11 to 14 weeks of gestation were studied. Maximum subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT) and visceral fat thickness (VFT) were successfully measured by ultrasound.

Metabolic syndrome in normal and complicated pregnancies.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components in normal and complicated pregnancies.

Setting: university hospital, tertiary referral centre.

Subjects: 90 pregnant women in four groups: 20 women with preeclampsia, 20 women with gestational hypertension, 30 women with late-onset gestational diabetes and 20 healthy pregnant women as a control group.

Clinical parameters (body mass index and age) are the best predictors for the need of insulin therapy during the first 18 months of diabetes mellitus in young adult patients.

To address the question whether there are simple clinical predictors of need for insulin in the first 18 months of treatment of diabetes presenting in young adult subjects, a prospective study of 24 patients with diabetes mellitus (age: 18-40 years) was designed. At diagnosis of diabetes, age, sex, body mass index (BMI), glycemia, ketonuria, C-peptide, insulin autoantibodies, islet cell antibodies and glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies were recorded before starting any treatment. At the end of the follow-up (18 +/- 4 months), they were divided into two groups according to their need for insulin therapy: group 1 (n=15; 62%), who needed insulin therapy, and group 2 (n=9; 38%), who did not.

Microbiological characteristics and susceptibility patterns of strains of Rhodotorula isolated from clinical samples.

The members of the genus Rhodotorula show a marked ubiquity. In man, they have been isolated from faeces, nails, skin, sputum, digestive tract and adenoids, forming part of the normal human flora, although in recent years cases have been reported of both local and systemic infection by this yeast. There are virtually no studies in the literature on the sensitivity of this genus to the antifungal agents in common clinical use.

Increase in high resistance to penicillin of clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Cádiz, Spain.

The aim was to determine the increase and present standing of penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in Cádiz, Spain. We have studied retrospectively a total of 385 strains of S. pneumoniae obtained during the years 1991, 1993 and 1995.