Antithrombin III activity and platelet count show a greater decrease in twin than in singleton pregnancies, perhaps due to a greater increase in thrombin generation.
Some of the sperm-bound antibodies are associated with complement dependent sperm immobilizing antibodies, indicating that there exists a heterogeneity of sperm-bound antibodies. This result might be one of the reasons for the controversy about the relationship between ASA and immunological infertility in men.
An umbilical cord pseudocyst was detected in the 28th week of gestation in a fetus complicated with growth restriction and polyhydramnios. The combination of cord pseudocysts, growth restriction, and polyhydramnios prompted us to perform a detailed ultrasonographic examination (gray scale and three-dimensional), which revealed the presence of micrognathia, overlapping fingers, and congenital heart defects, features characteristic of trisomy 18. Karyotyping confirmed a diagnosis of trisomy 18. After spontaneous labor onset, the infant was delivered at 31 weeks of gestation, and died soon after delivery. An umbilical cord pseudocyst is a good marker for the prenatal detection of trisomy 18.
Dopamine treatment constitutes a major advance towards the management of severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) by causing renal and mesenteric vasodilatation as well as diuretic and positive inotropic actions. Docarpamine, an oral dopamine prodrug, is converted into dopamine after enteral administration, and the generated dopamine causes renal vasodilatation and diuresis. The purpose of this study was to assess whether docarpamine had beneficial effects in patients with OHSS. Twenty-seven patients, hospitalized because of OHSS and refractory to the initial therapy with intravenous albumin, were treated by docarpamine, after informed consent had been obtained. A 750-mg tablet of docarpamine was taken every 8 h. In some cases, the plasma levels of free dopamine were measured. The daily urinary outputs before and 1, 2, 3 and 4 days after the docarpamine treatment were 839 +/- 424 ml, 1121 +/- 608 ml, 1168 +/- 504 ml, 1325 +/- 815 ml and 1133 +/- 509 ml, respectively. There were significant differences between the first and each of the others (p < 0.05). In 19 (86.4%) of 22 patients treated, clinical symptoms associated with ascites were gradually improved after administrating docarpamine. The plasma free dopamine concentration rose to as high as 55.9 +/- 33.2 mg/ml during the first hour, which corresponded to the usual intravenous drip infusion treatment with dopamine. Moreover, there were no major adverse effects of docarpamine in this study. This was the first demonstration of docarpamine treatment in patients with intravenous albumin-resistant OHSS. Although no effect was seen in pregnant women, diuresis was increased in some women, and ascites decreased. These findings indicate that oral docarpamine administration could be one of the options in the management of patients with OHSS using dopamine therapy.
It is well known that the prevalence of heterotopic pregnancies following assisted reproductive technology (ART) is much higher than among spontaneous pregnancies. Here, we illustrate a very rare case of bilateral simultaneous tubal pregnancies combined with intrauterine pregnancy (incomplete abortion) following gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT). In this case, unsuspected bilateral tubal pregnancies were diagnosed when laparotomy was performed 10days after the termination of an intrauterine pregnancy. We conclude that a careful monitoring after the termination of an intrauterine pregnancy should be performed when the patient has prolonged genital bleeding, which might be a warning signal of heterotopic pregnancy existence even in patients without any risk factors of ectopic pregnancy. (Reprod Med Biol 2002; 1 : 65-67)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.