No abstract

No abstract

Preeclampsia is the most common medical disorder of pregnancy. Early onset preeclampsia is defined as presentation of hypertension and proteinuria before 34 weeks of gestation. Alterations of endothelial cells and fibrin deposition in microvasculature lead to enhanced activation of the coagulation cascade and impaired fibrinolysis associated with multiple organ dysfunctions. Plasma samples were obtained from 50 patients with severe preeclampsia before 34 weeks of gestation and in 61 patients with late preeclampsia. Factor VIIIR:Ag, fibrinogen, D-dimer, and thrombomodulin increased with advanced pregnancy. The platelet count is very important because of the close correlation with the activations parameters of D-dimer and antithrombin. Our results were consistent with activated coagulation and lowering of platelet count in severe cases with early onset preeclampsia. Women who develop early onset preeclampsia characterized a subgroup of patients with more and severe hematologic abnormalities than women with late preeclampsia (after 34 weeks of gestation).

Six permanent human tumor cell lines (OV-MZ-1 to 6) were established from 6 patients with serous adenocarcinomas of the ovary. These cell lines were derived from both solid tumors and ascites, from pre-treated and untreated patients, and are available over a range of in vitro passage numbers. The tumor cells grow as monolayers and develop foci of "piled-up' cells in confluent cultures. Flow cytophotometry showed that all the lines exhibited DNA hyperdiploidy with DNA tetraploidy in one cell line and DNA aneuploidy in the other cell lines. The mean population doubling time ranged from 24 to 52 hr. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that the tumor cells of all cell lines exhibited features of epithelial differentiation such as desmosomes and intracellular gland-like lumina. Immunocytochemical analysis showed that the co-expression of cytokeratins and vimentin, which is a feature of ovarian serous cystadenocarcinomas in situ, was fully preserved in the majority of cell lines. The main cytokeratin polypeptides expressed were numbers 7, 8, 17, 18 and 19. The tumor-associated antigen CA-125, but not CEA, was shed in the culture supernatant. This was in accordance with FACScan analysis of the cell lines and the level of CA-125 and CEA in the patients' serum. The estrogen and progesterone receptors were negative both in the cell lines and in the original tumors. These new ovarian carcinoma cell lines will be valuable models for further investigations into a variety of biological properties.

Both anemia and the lack of physiological maternal plasma volume expansion during the second trimester are associated with higher maternal morbidity and poor fetal outcome. Mean hemoglobin levels between the 14th and 30th gestational weeks were calculated in 4985 consecutive pregnant women and were correlated with outcome data of pregnancy. It was found that 9.4% of participants (n=3959) had normal pregnancy outcome. Mean maternal hemoglobin levels were significantly lower in women with a normal pregnancy (11.96+/-0.94 g/dL) compared with women who had adverse outcome events (preeclampsia, n=423, 12.5 +/- 1.0 g/dL, P< .0001; early birth, n=464, 12.2+/-1.01 g/dL, P< .0001; low birth weight newborn, n=473, 12.2+/-1.10 g/dL, P< .0001; intrauterine growth retardation, n=250, 12.2+/-1.0 g/dL, P< .0001). The risk for any adverse outcome event was lowest with a mean hemoglobin between 11.0 and 12.0 g/dL (odds ratio, 0.625; 95% confidence interval, 0.43-0.89) and highest between 13.0 and 15.0 g/dL (odds ratio, 2.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.54-3.31). In this population-based study from a community in Western Germany, impaired plasma volume expansion was an independent risk factor for the development of an adverse outcome of pregnancy.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract