Fetal cells in the uterine cervix: a source for early non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.

Various non-invasive techniques for prenatal diagnosis have been under investigation. We evaluated the success of fetal sexing using a non-invasive technique for obtaining fetal cells, uterine cervix brushing, in combination with FISH. Thirty pregnant women who completed between 6 and 10 weeks of gestation and who were scheduled to undergo pregnancy termination were included in the study. A Pap smear cytobrush was inserted through the external os to a maximum depth of 2 cm and removed while rotating it a full turn. The material that was caught on the brush was spread on four microscope slides. Two-color FISH was used for fetal sexing. Following pregnancy termination, a placental sample was used for full karyotyping. In 29/30 cases FISH diagnosis was confirmed by chromosomal analysis. The only male case in which a Y chromosome was not seen was from a pregnancy of 6 weeks 6 days gestational age. One case was mosaic of 46,XY/47,XXY (25%). In most cases (7/13) the Y chromosome was already identified in the first analyzed slide. With the use of a cytobrush fetal cells can be easily obtained for the purpose of prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal disorders.

Autonomic nervous function at rest in aerobically trained and untrained older men.

The relationship between aerobic training, vagal influence on the heart and ageing was examined by assessing aerobic fitness and resting heart rate variability in trained and untrained older men. Subjects were 11 trained cyclists and runners (mean age = 66 +/- 1.6 years) and 11 untrained, age-matched men (mean age = 66 +/- 1.2 years). Heart rate variability testing involved subjects lying supine for 25 min during which subjects' breathing was paced and monitored (7.5 breaths min(-1)). Heart rate variability was assessed through time series analysis (HRV(ts)) of the interbeat interval. Results indicated that trained older men (355 +/- 0.21 1 min(-1)) had significantly (P < 0.05) greater VO2(max) than that of control subjects (2.35 +/- 0.15 1 min(-1)). Also, trained older men (52 +/- 1.8 beats min(-1)) had significantly (P < 0.05) lower supine resting heart rate than that of control subjects (65 +/- 4.2 beats min(-1)). HRV(ts) at high frequencies was greater for trained men (5.98 +/- 0.22) than for untrained men (5.23 +/- 0.32). These data suggest that regular aerobic exercise in older men is associated with greater levels of HRV(ts) at rest.