Abnormal ultrasound appearance of the amniotic membranes - diagnostic and significance: a pictorial essay.

The obstetrical ultrasound may identify the protrusion of the uterine surface or placental area into the amniotic cavity. The differential diagnosis of this pathology with uterine adhesions, septate uterus, circumvallate placenta, amniotic band or amniotic sheet can be sometimes difficult. The purpose of the pictorial essay is to exemplify the presence of the amniotic sheet and circumvallate placenta in routine obstetrics screening of all trimesters of pregnancy.

Sudden Cardiac Death: Autopsy Findings in 7200 Cases Between 2001 and 2015.

BACKGROUND: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a sudden unexpected event, from a cardiac cause, that occurs in less than 1 hour after the symptom onset in a person without any previous condition that would seem fatal or who was seen without any symptoms 24 hours before being found dead. OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were to describe the features of SCD in Brasov County, Romania (400,000 inhabitants) according to local forensic department autopsy files. METHODS: We retrospectively chart reviewed a number of 7200 autopsy reports between 2001 and 2015 to identify cases of SCD. Data included cause of death, demographics, location of the event, prior known illnesses, as well as psychiatric comorbidities. RESULTS: Of 7200 autopsies effectuated during the 15-year period, we excluded 276 cases with incomplete data. The rest of the 6924 cases included 3000 autopsies (43.3%) of individuals with a violent death: accidents, suicides, and homicides. In 3924 cases (56.7%), the death was nonviolent. Of 3924 nonviolent deaths, based on the registry of Forensic department, we identified 1085 cases of SCD (749 males [69%]; mean age, 56 ± 17.4 years). CONCLUSION: Sudden death with a cardiac etiology remained a major cause of unexpected end of life in the vast majority of cases autopsied during the study period.

The Role of Natural Polyphenols in the Prevention and Treatment of Cervical Cancer-An Overview.

Cervical cancer represents the second leading cause of death for women worldwide. The importance of the diet and its impact on specific types of neoplasia has been highlighted, focusing again interest in the analysis of dietary phytochemicals. Polyphenols have shown a wide range of cellular effects: they may prevent carcinogens from reaching the targeted sites, support detoxification of reactive molecules, improve the elimination of transformed cells, increase the immune surveillance and the most important factor is that they can influence tumor suppressors and inhibit cellular proliferation, interfering in this way with the steps of carcinogenesis. From the studies reviewed in this paper, it is clear that certain dietary polyphenols hold great potential in the prevention and therapy of cervical cancer, because they interfere in carcinogenesis (in the initiation, development and progression) by modulating the critical processes of cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, angiogenesis and metastasis. Specifically, polyphenols inhibit the proliferation of HPV cells, through induction of apoptosis, growth arrest, inhibition of DNA synthesis and modulation of signal transduction pathways. The effects of combinations of polyphenols with chemotherapy and radiotherapy used in the treatment of cervical cancer showed results in the resistance of cervical tumor cells to chemo- and radiotherapy, one of the main problems in the treatment of cervical neoplasia that can lead to failure of the treatment because of the decreased efficiency of the therapy.

Natural conception following total fertilization failure with intracytoplasmic sperm injection in a couple with unexplained infertility: a case report.

With the introduction of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), couples with severe male factor infertility have been able to achieve fertilization and clinical pregnancy rates comparable to other in vitro fertilization patients. However, despite the utilization of microsurgical sperm injection techniques, failure of fertilization still occurs in a few patients. How such fertilization failure after ICSI might impact later ICSI treatments is less understood. We report a case of total fertilization failure after ICSI using sperm from a normozoospermic husband of a patient with unexplained infertility. Six months after the cancelled cycle, the couple conceived naturally. Unfortunately, it was an ectopic pregnancy, which required laparoscopy and surgical removal of the right fallopian tube. This case shows that a failed ICSI cycle, therefore, does not imply a hopeless prognosis for future ICSI treatment. Moreover, in cases with unexplained ICSI failure, natural conception can subsequently occur. The aim of this study is two-fold: to discuss a rare case of a spontaneous pregnancy after total fertilization failure with ICSI and to develop counseling material for patients and doctors who are faced with such a rare situation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a case of spontaneous pregnancy after total fertilization failure with ICSI.

Screening for microdeletions in human Y chromosome--AZF candidate genes and male infertility.

About 30% of couple infertilities are of male origin, some of them caused by genetic abnormalities of the Y chromosome. Deletions in AZF region can cause severe spermatogenic defects ranging from non-obstructive azoospermia to oligospermia. The intracytoplasmatic sperm injection technique (ICSI) is rapidly becoming a versatile procedure for human assisted reproduction in case of male infertility. The use of ICSI allows Y chromosome defects to be passed from father. The goal of our study is to evaluate the frequency of microdeletions in the long arm of Y chromosome, within the AZF regions, in these cases of infertilities, using molecular genetics techniques. Thirty infertile men with azoospermia or oligozoospermia, determined by spermogram, were studied after exclusion of patients with endocrine or obstructive causes of infertility. Peripheral blood DNA was extracted from each patient, then amplified by multiplex PCR with STS genomic markers from the Y chromosome AZF zones. Each case was checked by multiplex PCR through coamplification with the SRY marker. Three men with microdeletions of the long arm of the Y chromosome were diagnosed among the 30 patients, corresponding to a proportion of 10%. The relatively high proportion of microdeletions found in our population suggest the need for strict patient selection to avoid unnecessary screening for long arm Y chromosome microdeletions. The molecular diagnostics was performed according to the current European Academy of Andrology laboratory guidelines for molecular diagnosis of Y chromosomal microdeletions.