The estimation of fructosamine and HbAlc in pregnant women with diabetes mellitus.

Fructosamine, HbAlc, glucose, albumins and total proteins were estimated in 40 healthy pregnant women and 80 pregnant women with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Fructosamine was estimated by the NBT method with "Fructosamine test" commercially available kit on Technicom automatic analyser RA-1000. Glucose was determined on Beckman glucose analyser. HbAlc was assayed by the Bio-Rad test, while albumin and total proteins by Beckman tests. For all estimated parameters no significant differences were found between healthy pregnant women and pregnant women with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

[Lecithin in the amniotic fluid in the determination of fetal lung maturity]. / Lecitin u amnionskoj tecnosti za odredivanje maturiteta fetalnih pluca.

A prospective study involved 90 patients divided into groups of high risk and risk pregnancies, which matched in age, parity and gestational age. Two methods for the amniotic fluid phospholipid analysis were compared. The value of lecithin was measured by the two phase UV enzyme method and the lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio was determined by Gluck's method. The correlation of lecithin and the L/S ratio with gestational age did not prove statistically significant. No correlation was found between the lecithin concentration and L/S ratio on the one hand and the occurrence of the respiratory distress syndrome on the other. The increase of RDS in high risk pregnancies was not statistically significant. The lecithin concentration determination appeared to be a more specific method (37%) than the L/S ratio (19%), and the predictive value of the negative test also proved to be higher (94%) in relation to the L/S ratio (89%).

[Estrotec--a new immunological test for the study of estrogen in pregnancy]. / Estrotec--novi imunoloski test za ispitivanje estrogena u trudnoci.

For analysing estrogen in the urine of pregnant women an immunological method based on the principle of hemagglutination inhibition is applied. A total of 45 normal pregnant women were examined to check normal values, along with 30 pregnant women with EPH gestosis. Urine estrogen determinations were made concurrently by an immunological (Estrotec) and a chemical (Ittrich) method. Comparative studies gave satisfactory results, with the linear correlation coefficient r = 0.68 (p 0.05). In normal pregnant women the progressive increase in estrogen values coincided with progressing gravidity. In pregnant women with severe forms of EPH gestosis, estrogen values were in the pathologic range and in accord with the severity of the disorder and the issue of pregnancy.

[Immunological determination of alpha-fetoproteins in pregnancy]. / Imunolosko odredivanje alfa-feto proteina u trudnoci.

In 53 normal pregnant women the alphafetoprotein value (AFP) was determined by two parallel methods: immunological and radioimmunological. The results of this comparative analysis have shown a high significance, the coefficient o the linear correlation r being 1.0002 and the level of agreement obtained by the t test amounting to P less than 0.01. The use of the AFP test in the course of pregnancy depends on the stage of pregnancy. In the first trimester the AFP test is useful as a test for the early detection of fetal disorders. In the second trimester the test is important for the detection of the already existing disorders of the fetus in the course of gravidity and also for the follow-up of the fetal condition. In the third trimester the AFP test could be used for the assessment of gestation age, for the prediction of the death of the fetus, and for the detection of some fetal distress. The AFP level in the mother's blood can provide information about the condition of the fetus within the feto-placental unit.

[Enzyme immunoassay measurement of estrogens in EPH gestoses (author's transl)]. / Imunoenzimsko odredivanje estrogena u trudnica sa EPH gestozama.

Investigations were made in 312 healthy gravidas, from 20 to 40 weeks of gestation, in order to establish normal values of serum and urinary estrogens. The study also included 210 gravidas with EPH gestosis classified into three groups according to symptomatology: mild EPH gestosis (98), moderate EPH gestosis (70), and severe EPH gestosis (42). Mild cases did not show any significant deviations from normal serum and urinary estrogen values. Moderate cases were found to have serum estrogen values considerably below the urinary values, and with significant deviations from the normal values. Extremely low values of serum and urinary estrogens were found in severe EPH gestoses. These pregnancies ended unfavourably. Estrogen levels in every form of EPH gestosis reflect the functional state of the feto-placental unit and the degree of fetal risk within this integrated system.

[C-reactive protein in inflammatory processes of the female genital organs]. / C-reaktivni protein kod zapaljenskih procesa genitalnih organa zene

C-reactive protein (CRP) was investigated in 202 women: in 20 women with acute non-specific inflammation and the presence of different bacteria (Streptococcus pyocyaneus, Enterococcus, Escherichia colli, Proteus), in 12 women with confirmed genital tuberculosis, in 66 women with the chronic inflammation of genital organs, and in 104 women with normal genital findings. In all patients with acute inflammations CRP was positive. It was highly positive in those with elevated temperature and sedimentation values. CRP was also positive in the group of women with genital tuberculosis. A quantitative analysis mainly gave low CRP values in these women. The CRP values correlated with the Middelbrook-Dubos reaction titer. In women with chronic inflamations and those with a normal genital finding CRP proved negative. In women with CRP was positive even when the antistreptolysin caused by streptococci but also for those caused by other agents. It is concluded that C-reactive protein is a useful indicator of the activity of different inflammatory processes and that it may be affected by different drugs.