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PubMed1976

Tissue sites of alpha fetoprotein synthesis by the rat during pregnancy and hepatoma growth.

The tissue sites of alpha1 fetoprotein (AFT) synthesis by the rat during gestation and hepatoma growth were determined by specific incorporation of a radiolabeled amino acid precursor into AFP by tissue cultures in vitro. During gestation, AFP were produced by the yolk sac, the fetal liver, and in small amounts by the fetal gastrointestinal tract; there was no synthesis by maternal rat tissues. During growth of a transplantable hepatoma, only the hepatoma tissue synthesized AFP; the nontumor tissue of the host contained AFP but did not produce it.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Regional prevalence of hepatitis B, delta, and human immunodeficiency virus infection in southern Africa: a large population survey.

Although hepatitis B infection is endemic in southern Africa, a changing epidemiology of the disease has recently been documented in the region. The authors surveyed migrant southern African male mineworkers during 1986 to establish the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B and D (delta) infection in their areas of origin. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was tested in 29,312 adult male mineworkers from 18 geographic regions, encompassing the diverse tribal and linguistic groups in the region, as well as in expatriate mineworkers from neighboring southern African countries. The same cohort was also tested for antibody to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Selected hepatitis B carriers were also tested for hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), antibody to hepatitis D (anti-HD), and alpha-fetoprotein. The overall prevalence of HBsAg in this survey was 9.9%. However, the prevalence varied from 5.5% to 14% in different ethnic groups. A minority of carriers (4.9%) had replicative hepatitis B infection and were hepatitis B virus DNA-positive. Only 0.6% of tested carriers were anti-HD-positive. Alpha-fetoprotein determinations were abnormal in 1.2% of hepatitis B-positive men. These data show that although chronic hepatitis B infection remains widespread in southern Africa, carrier rates vary significantly from region to region. In contrast, hepatitis D co-infection remains extremely uncommon. These baseline seroprevalence data also establish that HIV infection was, in 1986, a rare infection in the indigenous population of South Africa.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

Teratogenic effects of antiepileptic drugs: implications for the management of epilepsy in women of childbearing age.

Exposure to antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment in utero occurs in 1 of every 250 newborns. The absolute risk of major malformations in these infants is about 7-10%, approximately 3-5% higher than in the general population. Specific risk factors include high maternal daily dosage or serum concentrations of AED, low folate levels, polytherapy, and generalized seizures during pregnancy. Adverse pregnancy outcomes, including congenital heart malformations, facial clefts, spina bifida aperta, hypospadias, growth retardation, and psychomotor and mental retardation, are associated with, although not necessarily caused by, AED exposure. Specific cognitive defects, hypertelorism, and nail hypoplasia can be causally related to specific AED exposures. To prevent teratogenic side effects, the prospective mother should be treated with AEDs only when absolutely necessary. Monotherapy with the AED that is most effective in the lowest possible daily dose (divided into at least two or three administrations) should be prescribed. High-dose folate supplementation (4-5 mg/day) reduces the risk of a neural tube defect in a child whose sibling had such a defect, but its impact on the specific teratogenic risks of AEDs is unknown. A substantial proportion of fetal malformations may be secondarily prevented by prenatal diagnosis, consisting of a fetal structural ultrasound examination at weeks 18 and 20 of gestation and, with VPA or CBZ administration, an alpha 1-fetoprotein analysis of amniotic fluid at week 16. Determination of a specific defect prevention strategy depends largely on parental attitudes toward prenatal diagnosis and termination of pregnancy, which should be discussed before conception.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1975

Alpha-Fetoprotein levels in normal males from seven ethnic groups with different hepatocellular carcinoma risks.

Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) levels of 1,335 males (15 years and older) of seven ethnic groups (Chinese, Indians, and Malays from Singapore, Caucasians from Lyon, and Blacks from Nairobi, forest, and the savanna region of the Ivory Coast) were determined by radioimmunoassay. A few elevated levels (up to 30 nanounits/ml) were detected in some normal individuals, especially in the older age-groups. In addition, there was a systematic age-dependency of AFP levels particularly evident in the groups from Singapore-Lyon, in which there was a 50% AFP increase between the ages of 20 and 40. Comparison between Africans on the one hand and people from Singapore-Lyon on the other hand revealed highly significant differences (p less than 0.001), especially in the younger groups, whereas Chinese, Malays, and Indians from Singapore had very similar AFP pattern; this suggests an important role for environmental factors in the regulation of AFP levels. The age dependency of the presumed effect of environmental factors is in keeping with experimental data showing that young animals respond more vigorously to AFP-stimulating factors. Although the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) differs in the three Singapore groups (the highest in Chinese and the lowest in Indians), no relationship was observed in this study between mean AFP level and HCC incidence in Singapore.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Elevated concentrations of serum alpha-fetoprotein in rats with chemically induced liver tumors.

The study was undertaken to determine whether aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-induced liver tumors in rats produced alpha1-fetoprotein (AFP) and whether the age of the animals would influence such as appearance, a finding suggested by data seen in man. Other liver carcinogens (N-hydroxy-N-2-fluorenylacetamide, N-2-fluorenylacetamide, and diethylnitrosamine) were tested for their ability to induce liver tumors producing AFP. The presence of AFP. The presence of AFP in the serum was determined by double diffusion in agarose and by comparison also by quantitative radioimmunoassay. Using double diffusion, AFP was detected in the majority of tumor-bearing rats that had received either N-2-fluorenylacetamide or N-hydroxy-N-2-fluorenylacetamide. Sera of diethylinitrosamine-treated rats with liver tumors were all positive, whereas sera of rats bearing AFB1-induced tumors were positive in only a few cases. However, all sera of tumor-bearing rats examined had elevated AFP levels by radioimmunoassay. Nonetheless, the average level of AFP in the sera of rats bearing AFB1-induced tumors was considerably lower, compared to the sera of rats with tumors caused by diethylnitrosamine, N-2-fluorenylacetamide, or N-hydroxy-N2-fluorenylacetamide. Rats started on AFB1 when 6 weeks old had more mixed liver tumors with neoplastic hepatocytes and bile ducts and higher AFP levels than did rats started at 26 weeks of age. However, the histological grade of differentiation of inducted tumors did not seem to influence the AFP level.

Aflatoxins↗
PubMed1976

Diagnostic use of meternal serum alpha-fetoprotein levels.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels in human maternal serum were elevated in 14 patients when measured by a radioimmunoassay. In 8 patients the elveated serum levels of AFP correlated with increased concentration of AFP in amiotic fluid and were diagnostic of fetal defects. The elevated AFP levels in the remaining 6 patients were shown to be the result of fetomaternal transfusion from either amniocentesis or natural causes. Serum samples drawn after amniocentesis through an anterior placenta may show false-positive elevations. The use of both maternal serum and amniotic fluid samples in pregnancies at high risk for neural tube defects can decrease the risk of diagnostic errors due to mistakes in gestational datind and may increase the diagnostic sensitivity of amniocentesis.

Amniocentesis↗
PubMed1976

Amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein as a marker in prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects.

The prenatal diagnosis of anencephaly and spina bifida (neural tube defect, NTD) through amniotic fluid analysis for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is gradually gaining clinical recognition. AFP concentrations were determined in 237 amniotic fluids from normal pregnancies ranging between 7 and 42 weeks of gestation. A steady decline in AFP from 26 mug/ml at 7-9 weeks to 155 ng/ml at term is observed. AFP concentration was determined in 35 amniotic fluids from 33 confirmed neural tube defective pregnancies. In 14 cases where amniotic fluid was examined prior to the 26th week of gestation. AFP was markedly elevated when compared with the normal range of the same gestational period. In 21 amniotic fluids past the 26th week, 17 cases (85-) had markedly elevated AFP levels; however, 2 cases of anencephaly, 1 of spina bifida, and 1 of hydrocephaly gave levels within the normal range. It is concluded that elevated AFP in the amniotic fluid is a reliable but nonspecific marker for open neural tube defects prior to the 26th week of pregnancy, but may become normal after the 26th week in a small percentage of patients.

Amniotic Fluid↗