PubMed · 8090169
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G N Burrow, D A Fisher, P R Larsen. 1994-10-20. Maternal and fetal thyroid function.. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm199410203311608
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Fetal swallowing is one of the main mechanisms of amniotic fluid circulation. Swallowing mechanisms were studied in 34 healthy fetuses using modern ultrasound technology. The fetal lips and mouth, as well as tongue, pharynx, larynx, trachea and esophagus were surveyed in serial sagittal planes. Fetal swallowing movements were recorded and subsequently analyzed from the videotapes. All neonates were born at term in a satisfactory condition. Twenty-nine infants were breastfed, and five were bottle fed. No feeding problems were reported in these neonates. In 85% of fetuses, swallowing activity started with suckling movements followed by wide opening of the mouth. Next, low frequency tongue movements propelled the fluid bolus into the hypopharynx. In 15% of fetuses, this activity was associated with prolonged pharyngeal dilatation. Prolonged pharyngeal dilatation does not signify fetal neurological compromise as judged by good neonatal outcome and probably represents a normal variant of fetal swallowing.
SUMMARY: For 4 years. we determined the mode and risk of mother-to-child transmission of HTLV-I in a prospective cohort of 34 children born to seropositive mothers in Franceville, Gabon. We also determined the prevalence of antibodies to HTLV-I/II in siblings born to seropositive mothers. Antibodies to HTLV-I/II were detected by Western blot, and the proviral DNA was detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The risk of seroconversion to anti-HTLV-I for the 4 years of follow-up was 17.5 percent. Anti-HTLV-I/II and proviral DNA were only detected after age 18 months. We observed a seroprevalence rate of 15 percent among the siblings born to HTLV-I/II seropositive mothers. Furthermore, we report a case of mother-to-child transmission of HTLV-II infection in a population of HTLV-II-infected pregnant women that is emerging in Gabon. The lack of detection of HTLV-I/II proviral DNA in cord blood and amniotic fluid and, furthermore, the late seroconversion observed in the children indirectly indicate that mother-to-child transmission occurred postnatally, probably through breast milk.
Seventy amniotic fluids (AF) were sampled because of abnormal ultrasound findings (mainly non-immune hydrops fetalis (54 cases) or of the presence of vacuolated lymphocytes in fetal blood (3 cases)). They were analysed by a procedure involving AF supernatant analysis (glycosaminoglycans, oligosaccharides, free sialic acid and acid hydrolase activities) and biochemical study of cultured AF cells. Ten cases of lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) were diagnosed. The reported procedure allows an orientating screening within 3 days by analysis of 15 ml of third trimester AF supernatant (except for Gaucher and Niemann-Pick diseases). In some cases, the results allow an LSD diagnosis and a medical abortion without waiting for the formal diagnosis (in cultured AF cells that needs 3 more weeks), considering the poor prognosis of these LSD presenting in utero. Furthermore, the formal assessment of the diagnosis in the cultured fetal cells allows accurate genetic counselling for the couple.