A prospective study was made of clinical symptoms, liver function and pregnancy prognosis in women with cholestasis of pregnancy (CP). We used several positive and negative criteria to allow a clinical definition of CP as itching limited to time of pregnancy with or without laboratory evidence of liver dysfunction. The incidence during 1971-74 was 1.5% (100/6798 women) and lower during 1980-82 (52/5441 = 1.0%). One hundred consecutive pregnant women without itching were used as clinical controls. The incidence of CP showed a distinct seasonal variation, culminating in November. Women with CP had often had itching during previous pregnancies and during use of contraceptive pills and described anamnestically itching in mother and sisters. Laboratory data in CP were compared with reference intervals for healthy pregnant women. Serum enzyme levels were significantly increased for serum alkaline phosphatase, 5-nucleotidase, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in the second and especially in the third trimester. The enzyme distribution was often markedly skewed to the right, i.e. some patients reacted more than others. Most patients with cholestasis only had itching without pronounced abnormalities in laboratory data. This mild form of CP was associated with a good prognosis for both mother and child.

The mechanism of diabetic embryopathy is not known. Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced in diabetes may be causally related to foetal anomalies. The objective of this study was to determine whether supplementation with the antioxidant lipoic acid (LA) could prevent maternal diabetes-related foetal malformations and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in rats. Pregnant rats were non-treated (Group I) or made diabetic on gestation day (GD) 2 by injecting streptozotocin (Group II). Group III was injected with 20 mg kg(-1) of LA daily starting on GD 6 and continued through GD 19. Group IV was administered only Tris buffer on the corresponding days. Group V was a set of STZ-treated animals, which were supplemented with a daily dose of 20 mg kg(-1) of LA from GD 6 through GD 19. All fetuses were collected on GD 20. Lipoic acid did not affect the blood sugar levels of diabetic animals significantly but improved their body weight gain and reduced food and water consumption. Diabetic group had a high incidence of embryonic resorption, IUGR, craniofacial malformations, supernumerary ribs and skeletal hypoplasia. Lipoic acid significantly reduced these abnormalities. These data support the hypothesis that ROS are causally related to fetal maldevelopment and IUGR associated with maternal diabetes in the rat. They also highlight the possible role of antioxidants in the normal processes of embryo survival, growth and development.

Appetite and growth rate were measured in Sparus aurata fed ad-libiturn a basal diet supplemented with either a synthetic mixture of chemicals based upon the analysis of Mytilus edulis, muscle extract, or newly hatched Arternia saline nauplii. These components were tested for their feeding attraction potency, and were added to the basal diet at three concentrations each; 5 , 10 and 20 g kg-l dry diet.Appetite, which was defined as ad-libiturn food intake, was significantly affected by the type and concentration of attractant. When the basal diet was supplemented with 10 or 20 g kg-1 of the synthetic Mytilus edulis muscle extract, it was associated with significantly higher appetite than the basal diet only or the basal diet supplemented with any level of newly hatched Arternia salina nauplii. On the other hand, relative growth rate under the same conditions did not completely conform to the results with appetite. The difference between appetite and growth rate as criteria for the evaluation of food attractants is discussed.

The effect of different levels of fluid intake on the renal concentration test was evaluated. Maximal urinary osmolality did not significantly differ whether strict fluid restriction was kept or not. One side effect, namely headache, seemed more frequent after fluid deprivation than after a more liberal fluid intake. We suggest a practical approach to the performance of the urinary concentration test with DDAVP. The maximal urinary concentration after a single subcutaneous injection of 4 micrograms DDAVP was determined in 212 healthy adults aged 20 to 80 years. A significant decline with age was found in maximum urinary concentration, mean values ranging from 982 mOsm/kg at 20 years to 823 mOsm/kg at 80 years. References are given for different ages which render the test useful in adult patients.

Our objective was to determine the effect of anaemia during pregnancy on maternal and perinatal outcome. A retrospective case-control study was conduced on 100 anaemic (haemoglobin level < 11g/dl) and 100 non-anaemic, pregnant women with singleton pregnancies who received antenatal care and delivered vaginally in our hospital. The maternal characteristics of both groups were not different. The causes of anaemia were iron deficiency (91%), beta-thalassaemia trait (8%) and folate deficiency (1%). There was no significant difference in the mean gestational age at delivery (38.9 +/- 2.0 vs 39.6 +/- 1.6 weeks), 5-minute Apgar score (7.8 +/- 0.8 vs 7.9 +/- 0.1) and birth weight (3,150 +/- 530 vs 3,230 +/- 430 g) between both groups. Post-partum haemorrhage (3%), pre-term delivery (4%) and fetal growth restriction (6%) were more frequent in anaemic women but the difference was not significant. Anaemia, therefore, had no significant obstetric adverse effects in our pregnant hospital-population.