OBJECTIVE To determine the ultrastructural changes of the placenta in women with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia compared to the placenta of normotensive patients. STUDY DESIGN Comparative descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Obstetrics Unit of North Colombo Teaching Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka in 2004. METHODOLOGY Placentae of 10 normotensive women and 10 hypertensive women with pr...

Human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) is released from placental trophoblasts and is involved in establishing pregnancy by maintaining progesterone secretion from the corpus luteum. Serum hCG is detected in the maternal circulation within the first 2-3 wks of gestation and peaks at the end of the first trimester before declining. In Down's syndrome (DS) pregnancies, serum hCG remains significantl...

During the period 1959 to 1966 80 cases of trophoblastic malignancy and over 500 cases of hydatidiform mole were treated in the University Unit at the Kandang Kerbau Hospital, Singapore, as part of a prospective study of trophoblastic diseases. This paper reports the experience and results obtained in the management of the 80 cases of trophoblastic malignancy up to June 1966. All cases have bee...

Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) is the method of choice for first trimester invasive prenatal diagnosis. In expert hands, it is nowadays considered as safe as amniocentesis and has the advantage of an earlier diagnosis. In this review, we des cribe the technique of the procedure, its indications and contra indications and the requirements concerning adequate training and optimum clinical practi...

Chor ion ic v i l l us sampl ing (CVS) i s a technique for prenatal diagnosis of the fetal karyotype through cytogenetic analysis, and of Mendelian inherited diseases through molecular or biochemical analysis. Because the sampling technique can be performed in the first-trimester of pregnancy and diagnostic results can be obtained earlier than with amniocentesis, it has been utilized by clinici...

BACKGROUND The use of invasive devices and broad spectrum antibiotics has increased the rate of candidal superinfections. Candida sepsis associated with pregnancy is rare. Candida sepsis following chorionic villi sampling (CVS) has never been reported. CASE A 31 -year-old pregnant woman presented with signs of sepsis one day after undergoing transcervical CVS. Blood culture and curettage mate...

Background: It is estimated that about 3,000 pregnancies in Iran are at risk for b-thalassemia each year. Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of combination of ARMS/PCR and  RFLP/PCR techniques in prenatal diagnosis of b-thalassemia.Methods: Sixty-seven b-thalassemia carrier families were enrolled in this study. To analyze b-globin gene, amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS...