[Maternal serum screening for Down's syndrome: a user's club experience]. / Dépistage du risque de trisomie 21 foetale par les marqueurs sériques maternels: expérience d'un cercle d'utilisateurs.

Screening of Down syndrome using maternal serum markers requires specific quality management. We report here a user's club experience (Down's Club Abbott) in surveying performances of AxSYM total beta hCG and AFP reagents combined to Maciel software. Regular analysis was carried out during three years (1998 to 2000). Values from five laboratories were collected to achieve calculation of medians for each parameter, multiple of the medians and initial positive rate (cut-off of 1/250 established in France). The large size of the observed population (3,1020 women during the studied period) increased the performances of statistical evaluations. In July 1999, five months after a change in reagents leading to new medians, these latter were recalculated in agreement with the manufacturer. Our experience exhibits that only the concomitant analysis of all parameters (medians, multiple of medians and initial positive rate) can allow the monitoring of a potential drift (bound or not to reagents). Moreover, such user's clubs enhance the individual quality management of the laboratories and allow a good follow-up of the performances of the testing in time.

[Glycoproteins in maternal and fetal blood and amniotic fluid. Variations in normal and pathologic pregnancies]. / Glycoprotéines ua niveau du sang maternel, foetal et du liquide amniotique. Variations dans les grossesses normales et pathologiques

In this brief note, which is a preliminary report, the authors investigated systematically the variations, during normal and complicated pregnancies, of the concentrations of alpha-1-antitrypsin, orosomucoid, transferrin and alpha feto-protein, simultaneously in maternal serum, fetal serum and amniotic fluid. There exists during normal pregnancies a difference between the concentrations of alpha-1-antitrypsin and of orosomucoid found for primigravidae and for multigravidae. The role of these glycoproteins in preventing the mother from rejecting the fetus is discussed. In addition for Rhesus isoimmunization the clinical value of the variations in the levels of transferrin is discussed.

[Variations of the concentrations of certain glycoproteins in maternal serum, fetal serum and amniotic fluid during pregnancy (author's transl)]. / Variations des concentrations de certaines glycoprotéines au niveau du sang maternel, foetal et du liquide amniotique lors de la grossesse

The authors investigated systematically the variations during normal pregnancies of the concentrations of alpha-1-antitrypsin, orosomucoid, transferrin and alpha-fetoprotein simultaneously in maternal serum, fetal serum and amniotic fluid. The role of certain factors such as the gestational age birth weight, placental weight and pairty were studied with regard to variations in the concentrations of each of these proteins. This research permitted the definition during pregnancy of the normal concentrations for these four proteins and allowed us to learn more about protein exchanges between fetal blood, maternal blood and amniotic fluid. There exists a difference between the concentrations of alpha-1-antitrypsin and of orosomucoid found for primigravidae and for multigravidae. The role of these glycoproteins in preventing the mother from rejecting the fetus (insofar as the fetus may be considered as an allograft) is discussed.

[Alpha-1-antitrypsin, orosomucoid, transferrin and alpha fetoprotein in the amniotic fluid, Changes in concentration in normal and pathologic pregnancies]. / Alpha-1-antitrypsine, orosomucoïde, transferrine et alpha foeto-protéine dans le liquide amniotique. Variation de concentration dans les grossesses normale et pathologique

In this article, which is a preliminary report, the authors determined amniotic fluid levels of alpha-I-antitrypsin, orosomucoid, transferrin and alpha-fetoprotein during complicated pregnancies with gestational ages of 31 to 42 weeks. These levels were compared with those observed during normal pregnancies. The clinical value of the variations of the glycoprotein levels is discussed.

[Changes in the level of alpha1-macroglobulin in rats during Masugi nephritis]. / Evolution du taux de l'alpha1-macroglobuline chez le rat au cours de la néphrite de Masugi

Using chromatographic technique on "Sephadex G 200" associated to immunologic qualitative and quantitative techniques, the authors showed that the alpha1-macroglobulin is present in normal Rat urines. This protein is also present in urines obtained during the Masugi nephritis. The alpha1-macroglobulin concentration observed in the different urine samples is unrelated to the total proteinuria evolution. The results given allow us to discuss the mechanisms of the glomerular filtration.