Diagnosis of extrauterine pregnancy with special reference to ultrasound diagnosis and abdominal pregnancy

Extrauterine pregnancies scarcely achieve an advanced developmental stage and were rarely diagnosed preoperatively. Even the ultrasonic B scanning don't eliminate the difficulties in recognising the ectopic pregnancy. We can demonstrate this by means of 3 case. In one of them, a case of full term abdominal pregnancy with healthy fetus, we could diagnose this preoperatively.     

Serum bile acids in normal pregnancy

Summary. Serum bile acid levels were measured in a longitudinal study of 56 women throughout normal pregnancy. Postprandial levels of serum bile acids were measured at each visit. Mean serum bile acid levels increased significantly from 5.3 (2 SD 3.4) μmol/l at 16 weeks to 6.5 (2 SD 3.7) μmol/l at term (   P < 0.005  ).     

Serum oestriol in normal pregnancy.

Serial measurements of serum oestriol (E3) were made in 56 normal pregnancies from 10 to 40 weeks gestation using a radioreceptor assay. Several parameters of the assay and its intrapatient variability were examined. The mean curve for pregnancy E3 levels and limits of normal variation have been identified and compared with those of other series. A positive correlation was found to exist between infant birth weight and the last E3 value in normal pregnancies prior to the onset of labour. Advantages of serum E3 assays over urinary E3 determinations are discussed.     

Serum bile acids in normal pregnancy

Serum bile acid levels were measured in a longitudinal study of 56 women throughout normal pregnancy. Postprandial levels of serum bile acids were measured at each visit. Mean serum bile acid levels increased significantly from 5.3 (2 SD 3.4) mumol/l at 16 weeks to 6.5 (2 SD 3.7) mumol/l at term (P less than 0.005).     

Serum heat shock protein 70 levels are decreased in normal human pregnancy

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are primarily known to be intracellular proteins with molecular chaperone and cytoprotective functions. However, Hsp60 and Hsp70 have been found in the serum and plasma of healthy non-pregnant individuals. We aimed to compare serum Hsp70 concentrations in healthy pregnant women with those of healthy non-pregnant women and to determine factors influencing serum Hsp70 levels in normal pregnancy. One hundred and seventy six healthy pregnant women with uncomplicated pregnancies (age, 17-44 years; gestational age, 20-41 weeks) and 81 healthy, age-matched non-pregnant women (age, 22-40 years) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Serum Hsp70 concentrations were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and were significantly lower in healthy pregnant women than in healthy non-pregnant women (median (25-75 percentile): 0.29 (0.20-0.35)ng/ml versus 1.27 (0.86-1.72)ng/ml; p<0.001). In healthy pregnant women, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between maternal age and serum Hsp70 concentration (Spearman R=-0.35; p<0.001) and a significant positive correlation between gestational age and serum Hsp70 level (Spearman R=0.35; p<0.001). The capacity of extracellular Hsp70 to elicit innate and adaptive proinflammatory immune responses might be harmful in pregnancy and lead to immune rejection of the fetal semi-allograft. We hypothesize that decreased circulating Hsp70 levels are due to unknown regulatory mechanisms aimed at maintaining immune tolerance in pregnancy. In conclusion, serum Hsp70 concentrations are decreased in normal human pregnancy; however, further studies are needed to explain the observed differences between pregnant and non-pregnant women.