Uteroplacental blood flow was measured with a computer-linked gamma camera after intravenous injection of 1 mCi indium-113m. Results of the measurements from 32 pre-eclamptic pregnancies and 37 normal controls are compared. The uteroplacental blood flow was measured as an index calculated from the rise time and maximum activity of the isotope accumulation curve. The uteroplacental blood flow was reduced with 50% in pre-eclampsia. In severe pre-eclampsia it was more compromised than in mild pre-eclampsia. A diminished uteroplacental blood flow was found in pre-eclampsia even in the absence of intrauterine growth retardation. The maternal placental circulation in the supine position was reduced with one third compared to that in the left lateral recumbent position.

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Benzene is a well-characterized human carcinogen and clastogen still present in both the occupational and general environment. However, the levels of benzene encountered today are, in most cases, relatively low and new methods, more specific and sensitive than classical cytogenetics, are probably needed to assess if current benzene exposures pose a genotoxic risk to human health. Bearing in mind the leukaemogenic action of benzene, blood lymphocytes appear to be a suitable cell system for biomonitoring studies. Buccal epithelium is an alternative source of tissue for monitoring human exposure to inhaled occupational and environmental genotoxicants. New molecular cytogenetic techniques allowing us to specifically study clastogenic or aneugenic events in human cells may provide the additional sensitivity required. In the present study, fluorescence in situ hybridization was used to examine the content of micronuclei (MN) (using the pan-centromeric DNA probe SO-alphaAllCen) in lymphocytes and buccal cells and to detect numerical abnormalities of chromosome 9 (using a chromosome 9 centromere-specific alphoid DNA probe) in buccal cells from a population occupationally exposed to benzene in an Estonian petrochemical plant. Age-matched Estonian volunteers were used as a control group. Individual benzene exposure levels were estimated to be around 1 p.p.m. (8 h time-weighted average). No increases in the frequency of total MN, MN harbouring whole chromosomes or acentric chromosomal fragments or chromosome 9 numerical abnormalities were detected in relation to benzene exposure in the present study. The lack of positive results was consistent in both buccal cells and lymphocytes, indicating that the benzene exposure levels encountered did not induce detectable clastogenic or aneugenic effects in the exposed workers. Other variables and confounding factors, such as age, smoking or alcohol consumption, did not influence any of the multiple cytogenetic biomarkers analysed.

Uteroplacental blood flow was studied with a noninvasive method using indium-113m and a computer-linked gammacamera. The blood flow was determined from the ratio of the maximum and the rise time of the isotope accumulation curve of the placenta. Eight pregnancies with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) were compared with 11 normal pregnancies. In the IUGR group the mean placental blood flow was only 1/4 of corresponding mean values of the mormal group. The difference was highly significant (p < 0.01).

Modified natural cycle IVF (mnc-IVF) or mild IVF (m-IVF) was offered to selected patients between 1996 and 2007; 43 patients during 129 cycles were treated with mnc-IVF and 145 couples during 250 cycles were treated with m-IVF. Comparison with outcome from conventional IVF cycles during the same time period and in the same clinic was performed. Although 53.5 and 39.6% of started cycles respectively never reached embryo transfer, the ongoing pregnancy rates per embryo transfer were 26.7% for mnc-IVF and 27.2% for m-IVF. During the same time period, cancellation rate for conventional IVF was 13.7% and the ongoing pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was 34.3%. For patients > or =38years of age, the ongoing pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was 17.5% in the m-IVF group. None of the patients aged > or =38years in the mnc-IVF group achieved an ongoing pregnancy. For patients treated with conventional IVF, the > or =38years of age pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was 27.0%. Costs of medication for m-IVF and mnc-IVF were 96.3 and 97.5% less than for the least expensive conventional IVF cycle respectively. Pregnancy rates per embryo transfer are acceptable for these treatment modalities, the cost for medication is low, risks for complications are dramatically reduced, and the treatments may be more psychologically acceptable to the patients.

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ( PAHs ) in coke oven emissions cause a cancer risk to humans. In a comprehensive biomonitoring study among Estonian coke oven workers, we looked at the effect of genetic polymorphisms in metabolic enzymes on urinary mutagenicity, 1 -hydroxypyrene ( 1 -OHP ) concentration in urine, and aromatic DNA adducts in white blood cells ( WBCs ). Coke oven workers were sampled twice ( samplings I and II ), and controls only once at the time of sampling I. Urinary mutagenicity was measured using the Ames test. CYP1A1, microsomal epoxide hydrolase ( mEH ), and glutathione S -transferase ( GST ) genotypes were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction ( PCR ). Urinary mutagenicity did not differ between exposed and controls, but those coke oven workers who were smokers had significantly higher ( P= 0.0002 ) mutagenic activity in urine than nonsmokers. Urinary mutagenicity was moderately correlated to levels of 1 -OHP and aromatic DNA adducts, the P values ranging from 0.0005 to 0.002. Carriers of a variant allele in exon 4 of mEH ( Arg 139 ) had elevated urinary mutagenicity ( sampling I ). In addition, urine mutagenicity of persons with predicted high mEH activity was significantly higher. Smoking habit did not explain the differences observed in urinary mutagenicity between mEH phenotype or genotype subgroups. Variation in exon 3 of mEH ( His 113 ) was related to a significantly ( P= 0.01 ) higher 1 -OHP concentration in exposed workers ( sampling II ). Workers from sampling I who had an Arg 139 variation in mEH had lower levels of adducts in lymphocytes ( P= 0.01 ) than others, while airborne benzo[ a ]pyrene ( B[ a ]P ) and His 113 variation affected interactively on adduct levels. Our study shows that a comprehensive assessment of exposure is essential for elucidation of PAH exposure at a workplace. Even at high exposures metabolic polymorphisms seem to have some effect on biomarker levels, and should be assessed in biomonitoring studies. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology ( 2002 ) 12, 81 -91 DOI: 10.1038 / sj / jea / 7500204Keywords: aromatic DNA adducts, coke oven workers, genetic polymorphism, 1 -hydroxypyrene, urine mutagenicity. IntroductionEpidemiological data show that exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs ) is possibly carcinogenic to humans and believed to be mainly responsible for an elevated lung cancer incidence among coke oven workers (International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC ), 1983;( International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC ), 1984 ). In addition, other carcinogens, such as aromatic amines and heterocyclic compounds, are known to be present in coke oven emissions (IARC, 1984). Recent studies reveal both high and low mean exposure levels in operating coke oven plants.Most carcinogenic chemicals, such as PAHs, need to be activated to electrophilic reactants by metabolism in vivo (Miller and Miller, 1981 ). It is known at present that many of the genes coding enzymes involved in activation and detoxification of PAHs are poly...

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