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Alport syndrome is a familial progressive nephritis. The most frequent type is X‐linked Alport syndrome, caused by genetic abnormalities in the alpha 5 chain of type IV collagen. Skin biopsy is a useful tool for diagnosing this disease. It is not well known how this syndrome affects pregnancy and how it is affected by pregnancy, or whether the umbilical cord may provide material for detecting this collagen abnormality. We report a primigravida with Alport syndrome with mild proteinuria who gave birth abdominally to a term male infant without deteriorating renal function during pregnancy. The umbilical cord from not only this infant but also from an Alport (‐) control infant showed negative immunofluorescence staining for the alpha 5 chain of type IV collagen. Women with Alport syndrome without renal dysfunction may follow an uneventful obstetrical course until term. The cord may not be suitable for diagnosing Alport syndrome with immunofluorescence staining.

SUMMARY Electrocardiogram gated magnetic resonance imaging was performed in nine healthy volunteers, in four patients with pulmonary hypertension, and in 16 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Fifty two short axis images in diastole were examined to assess the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging for the measurement of the thickness of the free wall of the right ventricle and the degree of hypertrophy of the right ventricular free wall in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and pulmonary hypertension. Magnetic resonance imaging gave a clear image of 68% of the length of the right ventricular free wall, showing both the endocardial and epicardial margins. The mean (1 SD) thickness of the right ventricular free wall measured at a total of 512 points was 0 44 (0 12) cm in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 0-29 (0 08) cm in healthy individuals, and 0 73 (0 27) cm in patients with pulmonary hypertension.

Systolic time intervals (STIs) were measured in 57 patients with progressive muscular dystrophy (PMD) of the Duchenne type, and were correlated with the stages of physical disability. The total electromechanical systole (Q-A2), pre-ejection period (PEP), and left ventricular ejection time (LVET) were corrected for heart rate using the linear regression equations calculated from 91 normal subjects. Each systolic time interval index (STII), i.e. corrected STI, was analyzed. In 15 ambulatory patients (Group P-1), the STIls did not differ significantly from those in normal controls. In 37 patients who were unable to walk (Group P-2) and 5 patients who were confined to bed (Group P-3), there was a significant increase (p<0.001) in the PEP index (PEPI), a decrease (p<0.001) in the LVET index (LVETI), and an increase (p<0.001) in the PEP/LVET compared with those in controls. The PEPI (p<0.001), LVETI (p<0.025), and PEP/LVET (p<0.001) in Group P-2 differed significantly from those in Group P-1. In Group P-3, the PEPI (p<0.005), LVET (p<0.001), and PEP/LVET (p<0.001) were significantly changed in comparison with those in Group P-2. Remarkable myocardial histopathologic changes suggestive of dystrophy were revealed in autopsies of 3 patients who had been in the severely disabled stage and had shown impaired STIs. It is suggested that cardiac function in patients with moderate to advanced PMD of the Duchenne type is deteriorated in proportion to the disability stages, i.e. the severity of changes in the skeletal muscles.

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