Hyperandrogenism, postprandial hyperinsulinism and the risk of PCOS in a cross sectional study of women with epilepsy treated with valproate.

Among a sample of 43 women with epilepsy treated for at least 2 years with valproate (n=22) or other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) (n=21), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) was diagnosed in three women, two of them were treated with valproate. Although the rate of PCOS and of menstrual disturbances, weight body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio as well as fasting blood glucose levels, fasting insulin, proinsulin and C-peptide values was similar in this small sample of women treated with valproate and other AEDs, valproate exposure was associated with higher androgen levels, higher postprandial (pp) insulin and proinsulin levels, as well as lower cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The pronounced increase in pp insulin levels during VPA treatment may indicate an effect of the fatty acid derivate VPA on pancreatic islet cells.

Hydranencephaly with renal dysgenesis: a coincidental finding? Case report with review of the literature.

We present the case of a female fetus aborted in the 20th week of gestation due to severely dysplastic kidneys, anhydramnios and hydranencephalus. The combination of these malformations is extremely rare, resulting in only 4 cases described so far. Our case is the first ever presented in a female showing polycystic-dysplastic kidneys. Multiple multinucleated neurons were a remarkable finding in the remnants of the brain. The possibility of an underlying genetic disorder is discussed, together with a brief review of the literature to date.

[Ultrasound morphologic evaluation of the postmenopausal endometrium. A prospective study]. / Sonomorphologische Beurteilung des postmenopausalen Endometriums. Eine prospektive Studie.

OBJECTIVE: The measurement of the endometrial thickness by means of transvaginal sonography has been discussed as a tool for cancer screening. The aim of the study was to evaluate such a sonomorphological characterization of the endometrium performed by physicians in training. METHODS: A transvaginal sonography was performed in 400 patients before histological examination (dilatation and curettage or hysterectomy). The endometrial thickness measured as double layer and the sonographic patterns were determined. RESULTS: The endometrial thickness correlated with the histological findings: the median thickness was 6 mm for the normal endometrium and increased to 9 mm for polypiform hyperplasias 9.5 for cervical mucous polyps, and to 14 mm for glandular-cystic hyperplasias and carcinomas (p < 0.001 vs. normal). The sonomorphological grading score was also associated with the histology. For the sonomorphological grading, the sensitivity decreased to 80%, but the specificity increased to 62%. CONCLUSIONS: The sonomorphological pattern is superior to the sole determination of the endometrial thickness. This method is practicable under routine conditions performed by physicians in training. However, the specificity of both methods is too low to recommend them for cancer screening.

[Kallikrein (urine) in pregnancy-induced hypertension]. / Kallikrein (Harn) bei schwangerschaftsinduzierten Hochdruckerkrankungen.

Total, active and inactive renal kallikrein were compared between 25 patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and 25 healthy pregnant women of corresponding gestational age. Values of all three fractions were twice as high in healthy women than in hypertensive patients and differed with statistical significance. A longitudinal examination of renal kallikrein during pregnancy showed a physiological decrease of values from the 16th-20th week until term. Asymptomatic women, who developed hypertension later on, showed decreased renal kallikrein values.

Uncommon location of persistent ectopic pregnancy following laparoscopic surgery.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic surgery has become an important tool in the treatment of tubal pregnancy. Skillful operative technique should prevent tissue spread and thus avoid persistence of ectopic trophoblastic cells. CASE: A laparotomy with complete salpingectomy was performed in a patient with rising serum hCG levels after a previous laparoscopic partial salpingectomy for ampullary tubal pregnancy. The only residual trophoblastic tissue found was an implant in the abdominal wall at the site of auxiliary puncture. CONCLUSION: Extra-abdominal dispersion of active trophoblastic cells may lead to increasing hCG levels, mimicking persistent tubal pregnancy.

Teratoma of the umbilical cord. Case report with review of the literature.

Teratomas of the umbilical cord are very rare lesions. We found only five cases in the literature from 1887 to 1993, the latest reported in 1985. We report a case of a 10 x 7 x 5-cm mass located just at the end of an omphalocele in the umbilical cord of a full-term baby. The mass exhibited something like a cranial and a caudal pole, and tissues of all three germinal layers could be found, but there were no skeletal structures. Therefore, this lesion was diagnosed as a teratoma of the umbilical cord. We review the literature and discuss the relationship between the teratoma of the umbilical cord and the holoacardius amorphus.

[Intrauterine pregnancy after conservative treatment of ectopic pregnancy with contralateral removal of the adnexa]. / Intrauterine Schwangerschaft nach konservierender Behandlung einer ektopischen Schwangerschaft mit kontralateraler Adnexentfernung.

Laparoscopic injection has become an important tool in tubal pregnancy. Intratubal injection of 5 mg of prostaglandin F2 alpha (PG F2 alpha) was successful at a serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) level of more than 2500 mlU/ml. Intrauterine pregnancy occurred 112 days after laparoscopic treatment, during earlier removal of the contralateral tube.

Early diagnosis of tubal pregnancy: changes in tubal blood flow evaluated by endovaginal color Doppler sonography.

OBJECTIVE: To improve the accuracy and speed of diagnosis of an ectopic tubal pregnancy by means of blood flow analysis in the tubal arteries. We hypothesized that invasion of the trophoblast increases blood flow in the tubal artery involved in ectopic pregnancy. METHODS: In 394 patients, using an endovaginal triplex color Doppler ultrasonography system, we performed qualitative blood flow analysis in the tubal arteries on both sides. The percentage of the between-side difference in tubal blood flow was calculated. RESULTS: There was an increase in tubal blood flow on the ectopic pregnancy side, and the mean between-side difference in tubal blood flow was 20.45% in the ectopic pregnancy group. In the control groups, the between-side difference was 2.95% (t = 21.5, P < .00001). Using a cutoff point of 8% for the percentage of the between-side difference in tubal blood flow, the method had a sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 96% for diagnosing an ectopic pregnancy. The percentage of the between-side difference in tubal blood flow was independent of gestational age (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.081). CONCLUSION: The advantages of this new method for diagnosing tubal pregnancy are early detection, noninvasivity, and immediate results.

Low-dose aspirin in primigravidae with positive roll-over test.

In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study for the prevention of pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, 41 primigravidae with positive roll-over test (28th-32nd week of pregnancy) received 80 mg aspirin/day or placebo until the end of the 37th week. In the patients treated with acetylsalicylic acid (n = 22), 3 cases of proteinuria occurred, but no hypertensive pregnancy complication. In the placebo group (n = 19), 10 patients developed pregnancy-induced hypertension (6 of them preeclampsia). Group-specific differences concerning the occurrence of hypertension were statistically highly significant (p = 0.0004). No relevant differences were observed with regard to pregnancy duration, birth weight and umbilical artery pH value. The placebo group included 1 intrauterine death. No increased tendency to maternal or fetal bleeding was noticed.

[Cerebral malformations in the 30th-36th pregnancy week--diagnosis and consequences]. / Zerebrale Fehlbildungen in der 30.-36. Schwangerschaftswoche--Diagnostik und Konsequenzen.

When serious cerebral malformations of the fetal cerebrum are diagnosed, the pregnancy is in most cases so far advanced, that termination would be difficult medically, controversial ethically and--depending on legislation--impossible legally. Most cerebral malformations associated with hydrocephalus appear late in the 2nd and early in the 3rd trimester. Routine pregnancy ultrasound scan of the fetal brain is difficult due to the dynamic changes in cerebral anatomy during normal pregnancy and due to the artefacts produced by intra-cranial reverberations. The concept that there is a "right time" for in utero diagnosis of fetal hydrocephalus is reviewed. Unequivocal early diagnosis is only possible in cases of anencephaly. 15 cases of severe cerebral malformations that were seen during prenatal ultrasound at Innsbruck University Hospital are presented "Nonaggressive Obstetric Management" as a novel and structured approach to such cases is discussed.