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Biomedical subjects

S Agosti

Publications and source records attributed to S Agosti.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Behaviour of several enzymes of lysosomal origin in human plasma during pregnancy.

The following enzymes of lysosomal origin were fluorimetrically determined in maternal plasma from the second to the ninth month of pregnancy at 1-mth intervals: beta-D-N-acetylglucosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.30), beta-D-glucuronidase (EC 3.2.1.31), beta-D-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21), beta-D-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.22), alpha-D-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23), alpha-L-fucosidase (EC 3.2.1.51) and alpha-D-mannosidase (EC 3.2.1.24) (pH 4.0). As reference microsomal alpha-D-mannosidase (pH 5.7) was also studied. Thirty-eight healthy women, aged 18-37 yr, who had a normal pregnancy followed by normal parturition, were studied. All enzymes, with the only exception of beta-D-galactosidase, showed a progressive and statistically significant increase of activity throughout pregnancy. At the end of pregnancy, the increase ranged from a maximum of 5.6-fold for beta-D-N-acetylglucosaminidase to a minimum of 0.55-fold for alpha-D-mannosidase, pH 5.7. In the case of beta-D-N-acetylglucosaminidase, the level at the fifth month of pregnancy was significantly higher than that at the third month, and from the sixth to the ninth month each level significantly differed from that of the month immediately preceding.

Abortion, Induced↗

Hysteroscopy versus hysterosalpingography in infertile patients.

The purpose of this study is to compare the results of Hysterosalpingography (HSG) and those of Hysteroscopy (H) in order to evaluate intrauterine morphology in a sample of 47 infertile patients. In the HSG sample having no intrauterine pathology, H showed up a pathological condition in 30% of the cases. Similarly, in the cases in which HSG showed pathologies, H gave normal results in 33.3%. Considering H to be a simple diagnostic method, which causes little trauma to the patient, and is more precise than HSG, the authors recommend the hysteroscopic approach, especially in cases of sterility of unknown origin.

Adult↗

A comparative cytogenetic study on cases of induced abortions in TCDD-exposed and nonexposed women.

In order to evaluate the cytogenetic findings previously obtained on induced abortions in women exposed to 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxim (TCDD) after the Seveso accident, chromosome analyses were carried out on a comparable control sample. The frequencies of aberrant cells, the relative proportions of individual types of chromosome aberration, the average number of lesions per damaged cell, and the frequencies of polyploids do not differ significantly in maternal blood and placenta in the two samples. A highly significant increase in the frequencies of aberrant cells and in the average number of aberrations per damaged cell was found in the fetal tissues in the group of exposed pregnancies. A noticeable feature of the data on the frequencies of cells with aberrations is the marked variability among individuals within tissues and within samples. On the basis of these results, the authors point to the need to continue cytogenetic investigations on interrupted pregnancies in TCDD-exposed and nonexposed women.

Abortion, Induced↗

Haemolytic disease of the newborn due to anti-Fya (first case reported in Italy).

A new case of haemolytic disease of the newborn due to anti-Fya antibodies is described. The maternal alloimmunization was related to a previous blood transfusion. The patient, her previous child and the donor of the blood transfused were tested. Foetal condition was monitored by measuring bilirubin in amniotic fluid on three different occasions during pregnancy. The infant developed a mild haemolytic disease that required treatment only with phototherapy.

Adult↗

Fluorescence polarization changes with gestational age in amniotic fluid of rabbit and guinea pig.

The variation of amniotic fluid microviscosity with gestational age was measured in rat, rabbit, and guinea pig. In rat, the changes followed the same pattern as known for women, microviscosity being high during early and mid-gestation and markedly lowering 12 h before delivery. Surprisingly, an opposite trend was observed in rabbit and guinea pig amniotic fluid. Moreover, the lecithin to sphingomyelin ratio markedly rose in late gestation in all species considered. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of lipids and phospholipids were performed in woman and rabbit amniotic fluids at early and late gestational ages. Among all the parameters measured, the most important differences that can influence the amniotic fluid microviscosity are the presence of very high levels of lysophosphatidylcholine both in early and late gestation in rabbit (much higher than in woman) and the cholesterol to total phospholipid ratio which decreased with gestational age in woman but remained stable in rabbit. The Arrhenius plot of the logarithm of microviscosity against the reciprocal of absolute temperature of mature and immature amniotic fluids from woman and rabbit was also determined. The temperature profiles confirmed the differences in lipid profile between woman and rabbit in early and late gestation which could be quantified on a physicochemical basis by determining the activation energy (delta E) at 25 degrees and 37 degrees C for each curve. This confirmed the opposite patterns in woman and rabbit and showed that amniotic fluid from the immature rabbit was the most fluid.

Amniotic Fluid↗