[Smoking and pregnancy: search for a correlation between cotininemia and Doppler findings]. / Tabac et grossesse: recherche d'une corrélation cotininémie et Doppler.

OBJECTIVE: To search for a possible correlation between an effective marker of smoking and uterine and placental resistance during pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study was conducted at the Intercommunal Hospital Center of Montreuil, France: 81 healthy pregnant women underwent uterine and placental Doppler and cotidin blood assay, the best current test for smoking. RESULTS: This study shows a significative increase of utero-placental vascular resistances according with increased cotidine levels. CONCLUSIONS: The previously observed association between smoking and perinatal events most likely involves vascular resistance of uterus and placenta.

[Placenta percreta over a cesarean scar with bladder invasion. General review and 2 case reports]. / Placenta percreta sur cicatrice de césarienne avec envahissement vésical. Revue générale à propos de deux cas.

The authors report two new cases of placenta percreta on a caesarian scar with invasion of the bladder. On the basis of a review of the literature, they demonstrate its seriousness, which is always increased by the unexpected nature of the complications. They therefore recall the clinical and paraclinical factors which can provide grounds for suspecting this possibility, so that the hemostasis hysterectomy required can be carried out on the best possible conditions.

Cell Counts of Purkinje and Inferior Olivary Neurons in the 'Hyperspiny Purkinje Cells' Mutant Mouse.

The mutant mouse 'hyperspiny Purkinje cells' (hpc) has morphologically abnormal Purkinje cells and below normal intracerebellar calbindin-D28k, a calcium-binding protein that, in the cerebellum, is found only in the Purkinje cells. We counted the Purkinje cells on serial sections stained with thionin or labelled with anti-calbindin-D28k antibodies to investigate whether the depletion of the cerebellar content of calbindin-D28k was correlated with a reduced number of Purkinje cells. We also counted the inferior olivary neurons, as they are one of the major afferents of the Purkinje cells and also contain calbindin-D28k. The hpc mutant mice had 27% fewer cerebellar Purkinje cells and 12% fewer inferior olivary neurons than did controls. Their Purkinje cells were evenly immunostained but slightly atrophic. These data suggest that the depleted cerebellar calbindin-D28k content could be explained both by the loss of some Purkinje cells and the reduced size of the remaining ones.

[Late abdominal pregnancy. A case report]. / Grossesse abdominale tardive. A propos d'un cas.

A case of 29 weeks gestation abdominal pregnancy is reported as an illustration to a study of that rare gestation mostly occurring in developing countries. Most abdominal pregnancies are secondary. The most common clinical signs are the abdominal pain and uncomfort. The physical signs arise the suspicion of abdominal pregnancy which is confirmed by ultrasound. Most authors don't delay the surgical procedure after the diagnosis. The placenta is mostly often left in situ and mostly. No methotrexate is administered to improve the placenta involution. The abdominal pregnancy is of very bad fetal prognosis and very at risk for the pregnant woman.

[Results of detection and early treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in pregnancy]. / Résultats du dépistage et traitement précoce des infections à Chlamydia trachomatis au cours de la grossesse.

The authors report and comment on the results of a prospective study of the usefulness of early treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in pregnant women. The diagnosis is based on a serological examination carried out in the first trimester of pregnancy. 60 women were treated by antibiotics and they were compared with 51 women who were not treated. The two groups were statistically comparable. There was a significant drop in perinatal complications due to Chlamydia trachomatis. The difference was particularly significant as far as low birth weight and the incidence of conjunctivitis in the newborn was concerned. These results show how useful it is to carry out serological screening and early treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in pregnancy.

[Pharyngeal epignathus teratoma. Echographic and prognostic study]. / Tératome pharyngé épignathe. Etude échographique et pronostic.

Pharyngeal epignathus teratoma is an isolated benign tumour, but the prognosis is very indeed because it can so easily obstruct the respiratory or the digestive pathways. Only rarely has this teratoma been diagnosed by ultrasound in the literature. The authors, having had a personal case, decided to discuss the problems in making the diagnosis by ultrasound and in deciding what treatment to carry out.

[Feto-placental anasarca secondary to a neuroblastoma. Prenatal diagnosis]. / Anasarque foeto-placentaire secondaire à un neuroblastome. Diagnostic prénatal.

The authors describe a very rare case of feto-placental anasarca of non-immunological cause (AFPNI) which was secondary to a fetal neuroblastoma. The diagnosis was suspected before birth thanks to ultrasound. After birth a further ultrasound study as well as an anatomo-pathological study were carried out. This, then, is a case history of a stage "IV-S" neuroblastoma, which is also called Pepper's syndrome. The pathological condition is described.