OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Otoacoustic emissions have frequently been used for newborn hearing screening. However, they have low specificities and high referral rates. The presence of amniotic fluid in the middle ear is one reason for these problems. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of human amniotic fluid on otoacoustic emissions and on middle-ear function. METHODS Forty-six chi...

a,-Microglobulin levels in serum and urine were estimated by using single radial immunodiffusion, resulting in the following mean values: umbilical cord blood serum, 40*6 mg/I; normal adult serum, 44-2 mg/I; and normal urine, 5 7 mg/24 h urine volume. Slightly higher levels of serum a1-microglobulin were found in infants and the aged. Serum and urine a,-microglobulin levels in patients with ren...

Amniotic fluid embolism is a rare obstetric complication. The exact pathogenesis of this syndrome remains unknown and significant controversy exists whether coagulopathy should always be present. We used thromboelastography to assess the effect of amniotic fluid on coagulation and platelet function in pregnant women. Different volumes of amniotic fluid (10-60 microl) were added to blood (330 mi...

During the second and third trimesters increasing activities of the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase are to be found in human amniotic fluid. At term (37 to 42 weeks), a very steep rise in amniotic fluid pyruvate kinase can be noticed, which may serve as an additional prenatal indicator of fetal maturity. The presumable main sources of the enzyme in amniotic fluid are the epithelium cells of t...

Experimentation in late-gestation fetal sheep has suggested that regulation of amniotic fluid (AF) volume occurs primarily by modulating the rate of intramembranous transport of water and solutes across the amnion into underlying fetal blood vessels. In order to gain insight into intramembranous transport mechanisms, we developed a computer model that allows simulation of experimentally measure...

BACKGROUND Myocardial dysfunction occurs in a variety of fetal disorders. Findings from adult cardiology, where n-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (nt-proBNP) is an established biomarker of left ventricular dysfunction have been extended to fetal life. Since fetal blood sampling is technically challenging we investigated amniotic fluid nt-proBNP for its suitability to diagnose fetal myoc...

Aim. The aim of this study is to investigate whether amniotic fluid leptin and insulin levels can be used for prediction of for prediction of gestational diabetes mellitus or not. Methods. The levels of leptin and insulin were measured in the samples of amniotic fluid which were obtained at 16-20 weeks of pregnancy during genetic amniocentesis. We recorded the patients who developed gestational...