OBJECTIVE Genetic sonography following first-trimester combined screening appears to increase substantially detection rates for Down syndrome but it relies on the unproved assumption of independence between these tests. In this study we aimed to investigate the relationship between first-trimester nuchal translucency (NT) and a series of second-trimester soft markers and structural defects in u...

INTRODUCTION Protein S (PS) activity has been shown to decrease during normal pregnancy. The aim of this study was to determine any correlation between decreased maternal PS activity and fetal growth restriction (FGR). METHODS We carried out a retrospective study of maternal PS activity and complement 4b-binding protein (C4BP) concentration in 102 patients with FGR and 58 patients with fetuse...

To assess the possible relationship between an increase in progesterone concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and enhancement of spread of spinal anaesthesia, we have measured CSF progesterone concentrations in 134 patients undergoing spinal anaesthesia with hyperbaric amethocaine 8 mg. Patients were allocated to one of five groups according to the gestational period: non-pregnant group (n...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether the maternal serum ADAM12s concentrations are altered in the first and second trimester of pregnancies complicated by rare aneuploides. METHODS ADAM12s was measured by a semi-automated time-resolved immunofluorometric assay in a series of 60 first-trimester cases with trisomy 13, 78 first-trimester cases with Turner's syndrome, 38 first-trimester cases with triploi...

Serum cholesterol, triacylglycerols and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) subfractions were determined in 120 primagravid women during normal gestation (40 in each trimester) and in 20 non-pregnant age-matched controls. LDL subfractions were determined by PAGE, and an LDL score was calculated. The higher the score, the smaller the subfractions. The objective of the study was to determine the effect...

Background & Aims: Therapeutic abortion in the second trimester pregnancy is the choice treatment in cases with severe anomalies or intrauterine fetal death. It can be done by a number of medical (e.g. misoprostol) or mechanical methods (e.g. laminaria). The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of misoprostol alone and misoprostol in combination with laminaria in the induction of secon...