Effect of purple sweet potato leaves consumption on exercise-induced oxidative stress and IL-6 and HSP72 levels.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of purple sweet potato leaves (PSPL) consumption on oxidative stress markers in a healthy, nontrained, young male population after completing a running exercise protocol. A crossover design was applied, with 15 subjects participating in a two-step dietary intervention period. Each subject was given a high- (PSPL group) or low-polyphenol (control group) diet for 7 days with a 14-day washout period. After each dietary intervention period, all subjects performed 1 h of treadmill running at a speed corresponding to 70% of each subject's individual maximal oxygen uptake (Vo(2max)). Blood samples were taken before exercise and at 0, 1, and 3 h after exercise. Compared with the control group, PSPL consumption significantly increased plasma total polyphenols concentration and total antioxidant power (i.e., the ferric-reducing ability of plasma) in the PSPL group. The markers of oxidative damage, plasma TBARS and protein carbonyl, significantly decreased. Plasma IL-6 concentration also decreased. However, no significant difference was found in HSP72 levels between the two groups. These findings indicate that consuming a high-polyphenol diet for 7 days can modulate antioxidative status and decrease exercise-induced oxidative damage and pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion.

Prenatal diagnosis and perinatal management of maternal-fetal congenital parvovirus B19 infection.

OBJECTIVE: In nonimmune pregnant woman, the primary infection with parvovirus B19 may lead to transplacental transmission to the fetus with variable outcomes, including congenital anemia, hydrops fetalis, fetal death or spontaneous resolution. CASE REPORT: The first case was of a 28-year-old woman, gravida 2, para 1, whose fetus was found to have left-sided pleural effusion on a sonogram at 29 weeks of gestation. A sample of aspirated pleural fluid was positive for parvovirus B19 by polymerase chain reaction. Cordocentesis showed fetal hemoglobin level of 5.0 g/dL. Intraperitoneal transfusion (IPT) was performed, because access to the fetal circulation was difficult. Thirty milliliters of group O, Rh-positive packed red cells were transfused into the peritoneal cavity. A non-hydropic baby weighing 2,680 g was delivered at 33 weeks of gestation. The neonates complete blood count examination showed a hemoglobin level of 16.3 g/dL. The newborn baby was discharged in stable condition. The second case was of a 31-year-old woman, gravida 2, para 1, whose fetus was found to have ascites, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and placentomegaly on a sonogram at 23 weeks of gestation. An amniotic fluid sample was positive for parvovirus B19 DNA by polymerase chain reaction. Fetal ascites and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy gradually resolved after maternal iron supplementation and 2 weeks of intrauterine digitalization therapy. A healthy infant weighing 3,198 g was delivered at 37 weeks of gestation. The neonates complete blood count examination showed a hemoglobin level of 10.3 g/dL. CONCLUSION: Termination of pregnancy is rarely indicated, because B19 virus is not teratogenic. Although intravascular transfusion offers obvious theoretical advantages, in some cases in which access to the fetal circulation is difficult or impossible, IPT should be performed combined with appropriate medical treatment. Thus, there is still a place for IPT in modern management of the severely anemic fetus, and this technique should not be neglected.

Fetal intracranial hemorrhage (fetal stroke): report of four antenatally diagnosed cases and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: Neonatal intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) has been estimated to be high in premature infants, occurring in approximately 40% of infants of less than 32 weeks' gestation. However, the true incidence of ICH in utero has not been determined. We present our experience with four cases of fetal ICH (fetal stroke), which was detected prenatally by ultrasonography (US). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four cases of fetal ICH were identified over a 2-year period at the prenatal unit of Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. Prenatal and neonatal sonograms, computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), medical records, and the clinical course were assessed retrospectively. In each case, a series of initial and follow-up obstetric sonograms were available. Fetal stroke was recognized by several sonographic features: irregular echogenic brain mass, intraventricular echogenic foci or periventricular echodensities; ventriculomegaly; and posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH). A detailed investigation for possible etiology of fetal ICH was performed in all cases. RESULTS: Transabdominal US showed hyperechoic lesions in the lateral ventricle and ventriculomegaly in three of the four fetuses, and a massive intraparenchymal hemorrhage in the remaining one. Three fetuses were born vaginally and one by cesarean section due to an enlarged head circumference. Abnormal nonstress tests and abnormal flow velocity waveforms in the umbilical and middle cerebral arteries were present in two cases. Intrapartum fetal death and neonatal death occurred in the first two cases associated with maternal preeclampsia at 31 and 27 weeks, respectively. In the remaining two infants, the one in case 3 underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunting, which developed normally at the age of 18 months. The other infant in case 4 had PHH after suspicious choroids plexus hemorrhage, and the detailed information regarding the cause of neonatal death was not available. CONCLUSION: This small series demonstrate that an antenatal diagnosis of fetal stroke with intraventricular hemorrhage Grades III and IV or with brain parenchymal involvement appears to be associated with poor neurologic outcome. Due to the significant neonatal neurologic impairment and potential medicolegal implications of antepartum fetal ICH, it follows that obstetricians and sonographers should be familiar with predisposing factors and typical diagnostic imaging findings of rare in utero ICH events.