[Placental alterations in pregnant women with autoimmune polyglandular endocrinopathy].

The paper gives the results of a morphological study of 13 placentas from patients with rare autoimmune polyglandular syndrome and adrenal insufficiency, a disease history of 2 to 14 years, receiving corticosteroid replacement therapy. All pregnancies were full-term; labors were term surgical. The clinical and morphological associations suggest the placental alterations characteristic of diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases, uteroplacental and placentofetal ischemia.

[Diabetic fetopathy in gravida with autoimmune hemolytic anemia complicated by steroid diabetes].

The authors made a clinicoanatomic analysis of fetal death in a 32-year-old diabetic gravida at 34-35 weeks gestational age. Fetal autopsy identified the characteristic signs of fetopathy: macrosomy, cardiomegaly, hepatomegaly, and brain weight reduction. Histological analysis revealed minute foci of leukomalacia with glial proliferation in the cerebral hemispheres; adipose and hyaline drop degeneration of cardiomyocytes in the heart, that of hepatocytes in the liver, the proximal renal tubular epithelial cells; hemorrhages in the respiratory portions of the lung. The pancreas displayed inflammation foci, hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the islets of Langerhans. Immunohistochemical studies identified cells with enlarged nuclei among the beta and alpha-cells. The placenta showed a large mass with pronounced changes. It has been demonstrated that steroid diabetes may lead to the development of diabetic fetopathy and placental changes, which are typical of maternal diabetes.

[The echocardiographic assessment of heart activity in paroxysmal tachycardia in children]. / Ekhokardiograficheskaia otsenka deiatel'nosti serdtsa pri paroksizmal'noi takhikardii u detei.

The echocardiograms of 42 children were examined during paroxysmal tachycardia attacks, as well as 15 minutes and 5 days after them. During paroxysms the electrical and mechanical cardiac activity gets dissociated, the end diastolic volume, the stroke index and ejection fraction decrease which is determined by the reduction of the volume load of the left ventricle because of the shortening of the diastolic phase of the cardiac cycle and the lack of the effective systole of the atria. The late diastolic opening of the mitral valve could not be recorded on the echocardiogram. During the interictal period, the most significant disorders of the cardiodynamics and alterations in the anatomical parameters were discovered in senior children suffering from paroxysmal tachycardia for 3 to 5 years and more.