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Biomedical subjects

T T Hsieh

Publications and source records attributed to T T Hsieh.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

High maternal serum free beta-hCG levels in Down syndrome pregnancies: a preliminary report.

To investigate the serum free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG) value in women carrying Down syndrome fetus, we have retrospectively studied 11 Down syndrome pregnancies and 200 singleton unaffected pregnancies between 15 and 22 weeks' gestation. Each affected pregnancy was assigned at least 15 control cases matched with maternal age and gestational age. The median value of free beta-hCG in Down syndrome pregnancies and unaffected pregnancies was 2.56 multiples of the median (MoM) and 1.06 MoM, respectively. The mean free beta-hCG value after log transformation in Down syndrome pregnancies was 2.01 MoM that was significantly different from that of unaffected pregnancies (1.05 MoM, P = 0.024). There were 54.6% (6/11) of Down syndrome pregnancies and 5% (10/200) of unaffected pregnancies with free beta-hCG levels greater than 2.5 MoM. It is suggested that free beta-hCG may be a potentially useful and superior marker in the detection of Down syndrome pregnancies in our population.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Hepatocellular carcinoma in a pregnant woman detected by routine screening of maternal alpha-fetoprotein.

A 26-year-old pregnant woman was diagnosed as having hepatocellular carcinoma at 16 weeks of gestation when extremely high levels of alpha-fetoprotein were found on a routine screening examination. The pregnancy was terminated, and a right hepatectomy was performed. Although such cases are rare, this one suggests that early measurement of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein in a pregnant woman with hepatitis B surface antigenemia may allow the timely detection of a hepatocellular carcinoma.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1995

Allelic deletion mapping of putative tumor suppressor genes on 17q in sporadic ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVES: 1) To study whether the same or different chromosome 17q genes may be involved in the oncogenesis of familial and sporadic ovarian malignancies. 2) To localize the candidate gene in the sporadic ovarian cancers. METHODS (STUDY DESIGN): Using DNA extracted from ovarian tumors and corresponding peripheral leukocyte, we examined the status of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 12 loci spanning chromosome 17q12-q25 by Southern hybridization and polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Comparison of the extent of LOH among 25 epithelial ovarian tumors showing allele loss at one or more loci on 17q, the smallest overlapping region of allelic deletion is between D17S579 and GIP, with a genetic distance of approximate 2 cM. CONCLUSIONS: From our allelic deletion analysis of chromosome 17q loci, it indicates that there are more than one ovarian cancer candidate genes on chromosome 17q.

Alleles↗
PubMed1995

Congenital malformation in newborns. Analysis of 501 cases.

Over a 14-year period in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 510 out of 44, 362 newborns were found to have birth defects. Maternal age, gestational age, parity, infant sex and birth weight were analyzed for each anomaly and compared to normal newborns. The average maternal age and parity for newborns with congenital anomalies were not significantly different from normal newborns. Mothers giving birth to babies with chromosomal aberrations, however, had a significantly older maternal age than the normal population. The gestational age at delivery was significantly shorter for all except craniofacial anomaly. In addition, there was a high percentage of intrauterine growth retardation in congenital anomalies. The central nervous system, the musculoskeletal system and craniofacial systems were the most commonly involved. The leading anomalies included cleft lip, cleft palate, anencephaly, polydactyly, hydrops fetalis, trisomy 21 and cystic hygroma. With improved ultrasound equipment and other prenatal diagnostic procedures, many defects of the fetus can now be identified. If the fetus is diagnosed with a surgically correctable lesion like cleft lip, it can be kept to term, delivered, then managed postnatally. If life-incompatible malformations have been detected before the 24th week, physicians are in a good position to counsel the parents. After the 24th week termination is proscribed by law. Therefore, physicians must take special care to detect fetal abnormalities early.

Congenital Abnormalities↗
PubMed1995

Midtrimester human chorionic gonadotropin levels: normal reference values in Chinese pregnant women.

In order to establish normative median values of maternal serum total human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) at our own laboratory, 2711 normal sera were collected from uncomplicated, singleton Chinese pregnant women, including 1705 samples measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) between 13 and 24 weeks' gestation and 1006 samples measured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) between 14 and 20 weeks' gestation. The hCG secretion pattern throughout midtrimester measured by RIA is similar to that of measured by both RIA and EIA have a steep drop initially and then steadily decline from 17 weeks of gestation. The total (hCG levels measured by RIA and EIA showed different normative median values and distribution. If it was measured by RIA between 14 and 20 week's gestation, there were 3.7% and 17.8% of pregnancies with serum total hCG levels less than 0.25 multiple of the median (MoM) and 0.5 MoM, retrospectively, and 11.6% and 5.5% among them with serum levels above 2.0 MoM and 2.5 MoM, respectively. When it was measured by EIA, there were 0.7% and 9.2% of pregnancies with serum total hCG levels less than 0.25 MoM and 0.5 MoM, respectively, and 8.9% and 3.7% among them with serum levels above 2.0 MoM and 2.5 MoM, respectively. Accurate and satisfactory interpretation of maternal serum screening for Down syndrome depends on establishment of a well-developed normative median value for each week of gestation. Any laboratory intends to provide hCG for maternal serum screening should have its own reference data by its own immunoassay method.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗
PubMed1995

Prenatal diagnosis of tetralogy of fallot by Doppler color flow mapping.

The prenatal diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) can be difficult, as the routine sonographic four-chamber view may be normal before birth. Unlike the normal fetus, in which blood flows adjacent to the left side of the interventricular septum, on color Doppler mapping a fetus with TOF also demonstrates antegrade flow along the right side of the interventricular septum. This Y-shaped ventricular outflow passing through the dilated aortic tract is confluent at the level of the ventricular septal defect during the systolic phase. In the past 3 years, three cases of TOF have been diagnosed prenatally at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. In each case, the above picture was demonstrated. 2-Dimensional Doppler color flow mapping may be helpful in the prenatal diagnosis of TOF.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Presence of cells of fetal origin in maternal circulation of pregnant women.

Fetal cells can be identified by using the polymerase chain reaction to test for the presence of human Y-chromosome-specific ZFY and SRY gene DNA sequences in maternal peripheral blood of women who bear a male fetus. Thirty-one pregnant women were studied in the first trimester to determine when fetal cells become detectable in the maternal circulation. Among the 19 women whose peripheral blood samples were positive for Y-chromosome-specific DNA sequences, the presence of fetal cells was quite case-variable from the 6th to 12th gestational weeks. Twenty-eight women who had given birth to their first male babies were studied postpartum to determine when fetal cells disappear from the maternal circulation. Fetal cells can still be detected in maternal blood 10 months postpartum in some cases. These results suggest that identification of fetal cells in the maternal circulation is possible. Nevertheless, interpretation of fetal cells in maternal circulation should be handled very carefully with respect to when these fetal cells first became detectable and potential interference from previous pregnancies.

DNA-Binding Proteins↗
PubMed1994

Growth discordancy, birth weight, and neonatal adverse events in third trimester twin gestations.

In order to understand the effects of intrauterine growth discordancy (15% or more birth weight difference), birth weight, and gestational age on the neonatal adverse events (including 1- or 5-min Apgar scores < 7, neonatal death, ICU admission, respiratory distress, hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia, perinatal infection, blood transfusion, and hyperbilirubinemia) in third trimester twin gestations, 279 consecutive twin pairs delivered from January 1986 to December 1991 were studied. Univariate analyses showed discordant twins were smaller than concordant twins in gestational age by 1.4 weeks (35.74 and 37.14 weeks respectively). When birth weight was compared, that of smaller (one with lower birth weight in a pair) discordant twins (1,951 g) was significantly lower than that of smaller concordant twins (2,423 g), while larger (one with higher birth weight in a pair) discordant twins (2,556 g) and concordant twins (2,594 g) showed no significant difference. Univariate analysis indicated there was a tendency for adverse events to occur in discordant twins, especially in the smaller twin. Through logistic regression analysis, it was found that birth weight and gestational age, but not discordancy, are the predictors of the occurrence of adverse events. A smaller twin weighing no more than 2,000 g has a 10 times greater risk to develop an adverse event as compared to a twin with a birth weight over 2,000 g and a similar gestational age; while a twin with a gestational age of less than 34 weeks has a 5 times greater risk than one 34 weeks or over with a similar birth weight.

Apgar Score↗
PubMed1993

Detection of beta-thalassemia carrier by direct analysis of beta-globin gene lesions.

DNA was prepared from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 114 Chinese with low erythrocyte mean corpuscular volume and analyzed by allele-specific DNA amplification for the presence of mutant alleles in the beta-globin gene that account for about 90% of beta-thalassemia in Chinese. A total of 9 mutations of the five most frequent mutant alleles were detected in 8 individuals. All mutant sequences were confirmed later by DNA sequencing. However, no mutation of these mutant alleles was detected in the remaining 106 individuals with low erythrocyte mean corpuscular volume including 22 who also had Hb A2 content of 6.0% or more. Our results seem to suggest that the presence of beta-thalassemia allele does not correlate very well with red blood cell indices and that direct DNA analysis by allele-specific DNA amplification is an accurate method to identify beta-thalassemia heterozygotes.

Alleles↗
PubMed1993

Detection of aflatoxin B1-DNA adducts in human placenta and cord blood.

Human placenta and cord blood are readily available specimens that respond to maternal environmental insult and are being used to investigate metabolism, bioactivation, and transplacental transfer of procarcinogens. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to quantitate 120 placentas and 56 cord bloods from term, uncomplicated pregnancies at Taipei Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, for the presence of the imidazole ring-opened form of aflatoxin B1-DNA (AFB1-DNA) adducts. Of the 120 samples of placentas, 69 (57.5%) contained AFB1-DNA adducts in levels from 0.6 to 6.3 mumol/mol DNA. Of the 56 samples of cord bloods, 5 (8.9%) contained AFB1-DNA adducts in levels from 1.4 to 2.7 mumol/mol DNA. A higher positive rate was found in samples collected in the summer than in the winter. These results indicate that a significant number of individuals in an area of high liver cancer risk have been exposed to AFB1, and it is possible to transfer AFB1 and its metabolites to the progeny through the transplacental unit. Thus, monitoring adduct levels in human specimens may provide information not only on carcinogen exposure but also on the relationship among infection with hepatitis B/C virus, dietary exposure to AFB1, and liver cancer.

Aflatoxin B1↗
PubMed1993

Possible non-sexual transmission of genital human papillomavirus infections in young women.

Human papillomaviruses were detected by an in vitro enzymatic DNA amplification method in cells obtained from vulvar swabs of 9 of 61 (14.8%) young women without prior experience of sexual intercourse and in 7 of 57 (12.3%) young women with prior experience. The prevalence of human papillomavirus DNA in these two groups of women was not significantly different (x2 = 0.16, p > 0.5; 95% confidence interval -0.165 to 0.215). These results suggest that genital human papillomavirus is not sexually transmitted in all cases and that it may be acquired by modes other than sexual contact.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Outcome of pregnancy in patients with organic heart disease in Taiwan.

A total of 122 pregnancies in 101 women with organic heart disease were reviewed. The incidence of organic heart disease in pregnant women was 0.25%. The ratio of rheumatic to congenital heart disease was 1.0 to 1.5. In the congenital heart disease group, IUGR was more frequent in the cyanotic group as were preterm births. Patients with cyanotic lesions had a significantly higher maternal mortality rate than those with acyanotic lesions. The cyanotic group without surgical correction had a significantly higher maternal mortality rate and more IUGR than those with correction. Congestive heart failure was the most common maternal complication, with a rate of 38.1%. The patients with good cardiac status control during pregnancy developed less IUGR, had fewer preterm births, less maternal morbidity and less maternal mortality than those in poor condition. Patients in functional classes I and II before pregnancy carried less risk of maternal morbidity than those in classes III and IV.

Female↗
PubMed1993

Maternal renal artery Doppler flow-velocity waveform in preeclampsia. A preliminary report.

By use of duplex Doppler ultrasonography, we preliminarily studied 30 normal pregnancies (control group) and 30 patients with preeclampsia (study group) before treatment. The peak systolic flow height to end diastolic flow height (S/D) ratio of the maternal right and left renal arteries of both groups were compared and analyzed. The results showed that there were no significant differences between the right and left renal arteries in either group, but unexpectedly the S/D ratio of the renal artery on both sides in preeclamptic patients was significantly lower than in normal pregnant women (mean +/- SD, 2.07 +/- .12 vs. 2.41 +/- .12, respectively, P < .001). The lower S/D ratio of the renal artery may reflect a decrease in renovascular resistance and an increase in renal perfusion. These findings were the reverse of what might be expected from an elevated vascular resistance and hypoperfusion model.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Analysis of peripheral blood of pregnant women for the presence of fetal Y chromosome-specific ZFY gene deoxyribonucleic acid sequences.

Deoxyribonucleic acid sequences of human ZFY (zinc-finger-Y) gene, a Y-chromosome-specific gene and candidate for the testis-determining factor, has been identified by an in vitro enzymatic deoxyribonucleic acid amplification method in peripheral blood specimens of women pregnant with male fetuses. This technique permits detection of ZFY gene deoxyribonucleic acid sequences in as few as a single male cell among 1,000,000 female cells. Maternal blood results were confirmed by amplification of ZFY gene deoxyribonucleic acid sequences in chorionic villus cells and by karyotyping in 33 of 36 pregnant women. There was no false-positive male result, and two of the three blood specimens with false-negative results were obtained from pregnant women at a very early gestational age. With properly designed guidelines, this deoxyribonucleic acid amplification method may be an alternative to determine the fetal sex for those pregnancies at risk for X-linked genetic disorders.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Possible transplacental transmission of human papillomaviruses.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the possibility of intrauterine human papillomavirus infection of fetuses by transplacental transmission of human papillomavirus before delivery. STUDY DESIGN: Specimens of cervicovaginal cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from 52 consecutive pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Cord blood specimens were also obtained from the neonates born to these mothers. Presence of human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 deoxyribonucleic acid was analyzed by an in vitro enzymatic deoxyribonucleic acid amplification method. RESULTS: Human papillomavirus type 16 deoxyribonucleic acid was found in 6 (11.5%) cervicovaginal and in 9 (17.3%) peripheral blood mononuclear cell specimens. Seven cord blood specimens from neonates born to mothers who were positive for peripheral blood mononuclear cell human papillomavirus type 16 deoxyribonucleic acid were found to contain human papillomavirus type 16 deoxyribonucleic acid. One cervicovaginal and two peripheral blood mononuclear cell specimens contained human papillomavirus type 18 deoxyribonucleic acid, but none of the cord blood specimens contained human papillomavirus type 18 deoxyribonucleic acid. CONCLUSION: These results seem to suggest possible transplacental transmission of the virus and the potential association of such transmission with the status of human papillomavirus in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Base Sequence↗