BACKGROUND: Acute leukemia (AL) requiring cytotoxic treatment occurring during pregnancy poses a very difficult therapeutic dilemma. METHODS: By means of a mail questionnaire, information on a series of 37 patients with a diagnosis of AL during pregnancy was collected from 13 French centers between December, 1988 and November, 2003. RESULTS: ...

5-Aza-2'-deoxycitidine (decitabine, Dacogen, Bloomington, MN) is a cytosine analogue that promotes hypomethylation of DNA and has documented efficacy in myeloid malignancies. Indeed, promising clinical results have been observed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Aberrant methylation has also been found in chronic leukemias, providing a rationale ...

Acute myocardial infarction rarely occurs in women during pregnancy. However, when it does occur, it usually carries a high risk of maternal and perinatal mortality. There is a lack of awareness that this condition can occur in pregnancy since coronary artery disease is uncommon in women of childbearing age. In ...

Fetal defects in mitochondrial beta-oxidation have been linked with an increased risk for acute fatty liver of pregnancy and preeclampsia-related conditions. A woman with previously undiagnosed carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 deficiency experienced hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets-like syndrome late in her first pregnancy with an unaffected fetus. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 ...

Pregnancy is a physiological condition where plasma triglyceride levels are moderately increased. This results from raised synthesis of very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) in response to elevated estrogen levels. The occurrence of marked hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) is rare and may result from combination of heterozygote mutation in the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene and ...

Acute aortic insufficiency in the setting of thyrotoxicosis can mask the presentation of vasculitis. We report a case of a 38-year-old woman with a 22 weeks gestation pregnancy who was known to be hyperthyroid for 4 months prior to conception. She presented with thyrotoxicosis and acute respiratory failure. Echocardiogram revealed ...

BACKGROUND: Urea cycle disorders are relatively rare but well-established causes of postpartum coma and death. Such clinical presentations have been reported previously in ornithine transcarbamylase and carbamyl phosphate synthetase deficiencies. CASE: We describe a woman, without prior symptoms of metabolic disease, who presented with hyperammonemia and psychiatric symptoms in the ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the demographics, clinical presentation, and maternal and neonatal outcomes in patients who were diagnosed with acute fatty liver of pregnancy over a 10-year period. STUDY DESIGN: This was a multicenter retrospective study of women with the diagnosis of acute fatty liver ...

OBJECTIVE: Arthritis is associated with increased articular formation of nitrotyrosine, which may contribute to injury. Nitrotyrosine is formed by nitration of tyrosine by reactive nitrogen species such as peroxynitrite, the formation of which may be enhanced by xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR), since it can generate nitric oxide from nitrite/nitrate, and superoxide ...

A 24-year old primaparous female at 20 weeks gestation presented acutely with cerebellar symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging brain showed evidence of a cerebellar vermis lesion. This was diagnosed as medulloblastoma on histopathological analysis. She underwent surgical debulking and radiotherapy. Interestingly, the lesion recurred 4 years later on her second pregnancy. ...

BACKGROUND: Periodontitis has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Systemic reactions associated with cardiovascular events may depend on characteristics of the subgingival microflora in periodontitis. Our objectives were to compare the numbers of cultivable bacteria, composition of subgingival microflora and clonal distribution of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans) in ...

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) is a rare disorder of unknown aetiology that is diagnosed typically in the third trimester or early postpartum period. The incidence is estimated to be 1/6692-1/13,328. The obstetric team must have a high index of suspicion of this pathology, particularly in the presence of ...

Minimal (i.e. submicroscopic) residual disease (MRD) predicts outcome in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). To be used clinically, MRD assays must be reliable and accurate. Two well-established techniques, flow cytometry (FC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), can detect leukaemic cells with a sensitivity of 0.01% (10(-4)). We analysed diagnostic samples ...

Hyperemesis gravidarum is an extreme form of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Its presenting symptoms include vomiting, disturbed nutrition, electrolyte imbalance, ketosis, extreme weight loss, renal and/or liver damage. It is rare for a hyperemesis gravidarum patient to present with jaundice, hyperthyroidism and idiopathic acute pancreatitis during the same hospitalization ...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the population-based incidence and pregnancy outcomes of acute myocardial infarction (MI) in pregnancy. METHODS: Maternal and newborn hospital discharge records were linked to birth/death certificates for the 10-year period January 1, 1991, to December 30, 2000, for the majority (98%) of deliveries in California. This database was ...

Diagnosis of acute appendicitis is considered more difficult in pregnant than in non-pregnant women. The appendicial carcinoid tumor is a lesion that most frequently is discovered incidentally in the removed organ. We report a rare case of an unruptured acute appendicitis during pregnancy, which proved to be a large carcinoid ...

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is a relatively rare but potentially fatal liver disorder of late pregnancy. Recent advances in molecular diagnostic procedures provide evidence of a genetic basis for this condition and a link to offspring disorders in fatty acid oxidation. This relationship implies the need for genetic testing ...

We describe a case of acute fatty liver that developed during the third trimester of pregnancy. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) is a well-documented medical condition and is important due to its implications on maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. AFLP is managed with supportive care and close surveillance ...

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) and hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome are serious complications of pregnancy associated with significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. In previous reports, we have documented an association between AFLP and fetal deficiency of long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase (LCHAD) ...

BACKGROUND: There is limited worldwide experience with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in pregnancy. We present a case of SARS complicating pregnancy in the third trimester, with outcome data on both the mother and baby. CASE: A 33-year-old gravida 2 para 1 fulfilling the World Health Organization case definition for ...

Selected clinical aspects of suicidal attempts during pregnancy were presented. Nineteen pregnant females, in the age range 17-27 (mean 22 +/- 2.58), were admitted to the Clinic of Acute Poisonings in Gdańsk and Toxicological Ward in Poznań between 2001 and 2004 because of acute suicidal intoxication. The main attention was ...

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) were exposed to copper (1-20 microM) in softened Antwerp City tap water at pH 7.3 +/- 0.1 and with a water hardness of 292.4 +/- 8.1 mg/L CaCO(3) (Ca 100.8 +/- 3.0 mg/L; Mg 11.0 +/- ...

Fetal adaptations to impaired maternoplacental nutrient supply include altered regional blood flow. Whether such responses operate within the normal range of maternal body composition or diet is unknown, but any change in fetal liver perfusion could alter hepatic development, with long-term consequences for the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. ...

Primary splenic pregnancy is the least common form of extrauterine pregnancy. We report a case of splenic pregnancy occurring in a 29-year-old woman presenting with acute abdomen and hemoperitoneum. Recognition of this rare form of gestation is of critical importance, owing to the risk of exsanguination and death, and should ...

A 22-years old, 55 kg female patient in the twelfth week of pregnancy developed neuropsychiatric syndromes and in the following status epilepticus. Raised porphyrines and porphyrine precursors were found in the patient's urine. Despite intravenous glucose infusions and appropriate medication no reduction in seizure-frequency and neuropsychiatric syndromes was observed. An ...

BACKGROUND: Patients with early acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP) may not meet the current neurophysiologic criteria. OBJECTIVE: To document neurophysiologic findings in early AIDP. METHODS: Clinical and neurophysiologic data from 38 AIDP patients, assessed within 10 days of symptom onset were reviewed. RESULTS: In addition to absent H reflexes and ...

Determining the cause of liver disease in pregnancy can present a difficult challenge for clinicians. Minor elevations in aminotransferases may be a harbinger of life-threatening processes, such as acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) or hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome. Preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and AFLP ...

AIM: To analyse the association between potential environmental exposure to hydrocarbons and the risk of acute childhood leukaemia. METHODS: A hospital based multicentre case control study, stratified on centre, age, and sex, with 280 leukaemia cases and 285 controls was carried out. Data were collected by a standardised interview of ...

BACKGROUND: Perforation of an adenocarcinoma of the appendix in a pregnant woman is rare and may present as a pelvic mass and acute appendicitis. CASE: A 30-year-old woman, gravida 3, para 2-0-0-2, presented at 26 weeks' gestation with an acute abdomen, right-sided pelvic mass and uterine contractions. Tocolysis and prompt ...

Yogurt containing Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2716 (LG21 yogurt) is reported to improve Helicobacter pylori-induced gastric mucosal inflammation in clinical studies. However, other beneficial effects of LG21 yogurt have not been clarified. Therefore, we examined whether LG21 yogurt exhibits a gastroprotective action against acute gastric lesion or antral ulcer in rats. Moreover, ...

Appendicitis and pregnancy are both common conditions, and when they co-exist, both the general surgeon and obstetrician are presented with unique challenges. Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of the acute abdomen during pregnancy, effecting 0.1-0.3 per cent of pregnancies each year. With an estimated 4 million deliveries per ...

Persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (PHHI) or nesidioblastosis is a rare condition presenting with severe hypoglycemia. Prompt diagnosis and early pancreatectomy can save many of them, in spite of the magnitude of surgery. We present two cases in which near total pancreatectomy was performed with favourable outcome. Both patients are ...

This prospective study was designed to identify important clinical features in patients with recurrent acute tonsillitis. A total of 195 consecutive children aged from 1 to 16 years were examined and a history of recurrent acute tonsillitis recorded. Patients with obstructive sleep apnoea or recent acute tonsillitis were excluded. Tonsil ...

Acute fatty liver is a rare but fatal complication of pregnancy. Here we describe a patient presenting with stupor and jaundice after aspirin intake at 35 weeks of gestation. Supportive management and delivery resulted in uneventful discharge of the patient and the newborn. Differential diagnosis and management of this condition ...

We report the case of a 26-year-old second gravida in the third trimester of pregnancy who presented with a history of nausea, repeated vomiting and jaundice. The patient was diagnosed as acute fatty liver of pregnancy. After delivery, the condition of the patient progressed to grade IV encephalopathy and did ...

Acute leukaemia is encountered rarely in obstetric practice, occurring once in every 100,000 pregnancies. Such cases are usually diagnosed in the second and third trimesters. We describe a patient who developed a postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) as the presenting feature of acute promyelocytic leukaemia, which, to the best of our knowledge, ...

BACKGROUND: Glutamine (Gln) deamination by asparaginase (ASNase) appears to contribute in the decrease of serum asparagine (Asn) levels and enhance leukemic cell apoptosis. The pharmacodynamic (PD) rationale is based on the role of Gln as the main amino group donor for Asn synthesis from aspartate by the enzyme asparagine synthetase ...

QUESTION: A 26-year-old patient in our clinic, who was 18 weeks pregnant at the time, experienced acute abdominal pain and was diagnosed with appendicitis. The inflamed appendix was successfully removed. Is her pregnancy at risk? ANSWER: Appendicitis is not rare during pregnancy and is associated with increased reproductive risk. Women ...

INTRODUCTION: The causes of abnormal liver function tests in pregnancy are varied and may or may not be pregnancy-related. Often, the diagnosis can be difficult. This study looked at the causes of deranged liver function tests in obstetric patients with significant symptoms and signs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from 50 ...

BACKGROUND: A 27-year-old woman in her 20th week of pregnancy was hospitalized because of food poisoning caused by Amanita phalloides. METHODS: Previously extracorporeal purification treatments with 2 times of hemodialysis plus hemoperfusion and a high volume therapeutic plasma exchange (PE) in addition to intensive medication during the first 8 days ...

An acutely locked knee is a painful and debilitating orthopaedic condition usually caused by a loose body or bucket-handle meniscal tear that requires surgery to remove or repair. We describe 2 cases of acute locking of the knee that occurred during pregnancy. Both patients underwent urgent arthroscopic treatment under spinal ...

Endothelins are bioactive peptides produced by gallbladder epithelial cells. We aimed to determine the role of endothelins in acute cholecystitis. Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide vs saline (sham) was instilled into the gallbladder lumen of Australian possums. Some animals received the non-selective endothelin antagonist, tezosentan. At 4 or 24 h, plasma and ...

Pheochromocytomas are neuroendocrine tumors that typically present with paroxysms of hypertension, but occasionally can lead to marked hemodynamic instability, left ventricular dysfunction, and cardiovascular collapse. Although pheochromocytoma in pregnancy is rare, factors specific to pregnancy can precipitate catecholamine crisis, making diagnosis and treatment challenging. We present a case of acute ...

Leukemia is a rare event during pregnancy. The presence of leukemia during pregnancy raises several concerns about the effect of pregnancy on the prognosis of leukemia, the effect of the disease on pregnancy outcome and the teratogenic and mutagenic effect of chemotherapeutic agents on the fetus. We report a case ...

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by onset at a young age and a life-threatening hemorrhagic diathesis, which is attributed to a disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)-like coagulopathy. The discovery of all-trans-retinoic acid has changed the course of APL treatment by reducing the onset of DIC and inducing a complete and ...

A tumour therapy is proposed based on attenuated Salmonella typhimurium VNP20047 expressing the Escherichia coli cytosine deaminase gene. VNP20047 was administered intravenously to B16(F10) melanoma-bearing C57BL/6 mice. VNP20047 proliferated within tumours and livers regardless of the initial inoculum dose. After 10 days the number of bacteria increased in livers up ...

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) during pregnancy is usually transmural and occurs in late pregnancy with a peak incidence during the peripartum or postpartum periods. We report a pregnancy-related AMI, which occurring as early as the first trimester, was treated conservatively with antithrombotic and anti-ischemic drugs both acutely and through the ...

Acute trauma is not all that uncommon in pregnancy. It accounts for 15% of non-obstetric maternal deaths. Moreover, about 15% of acute spinal cord injuries involve young women of childbearing age (Gilson et al., 1995). Most of the existing literature on spinal cord injury in pregnancy is concerned with the ...

Ammonia toxicity data for freshwater mussels (Unionidae), a significantly imperiled taxa, were used to derive estimates of concentrations that would not likely be harmful in acute and chronic exposures and to assess the protectiveness of current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) water quality criteria to this family of organisms. ...

A 30-year-old seventh gravida presented with acute renal failure at 28 weeks of gestation. All her previous pregnancies were normal. With a differentional diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis, acute interstitial nephritis (cefuroxime induced) or rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, treatment with antibiotics, intensive hemodialysis (HD) and pulse methylprednisolone followed by oral prednisolone was ...