Magnesium supplementation in pregnancy. A double-blind study

Summary. The effect of magnesium supplementation in pregnancy was studied in 568 women who were treated with 15 mmol magnesiumaspartate-hydrochloride per day or aspartic acid as placebo given orally during pregnancy from 16 weeks. Allocation to the two groups was performed according to the women's birthdates. Magnesium supplementation during pregnancy was associated with significantly fewer maternal hospitalizations, a reduction in preterm delivery, and less frequent referral of the newborn to the neonatal intensive care unit. The results suggest that magnesium supplementation during pregnancy has a significant influence on fetal and maternal morbidity both before and after delivery.     

Fibre-optic transillumination of the sinuses: a comparison of the value of radiography and transillumination in antral disease

The development of transillumination of the paranasal sinuses is reviewed. A technique of transillumination with a fibre-optic source is described. In acute sinusitis there was a very significant correlation between radiography and transilluminometry.     

RAPID DETECTION OF KARYOTYPE CHANGES IN INTERPHASE BONE MARROW CELLS BY OLIGONUCLEOTIDE PRIMED IN SITU HYBRIDIZATION (PRINS)

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using DNA probes of several hundred or thousand base pairs in length enables the visualization of chromosomal aberrations in interphase nuclei. A new method for in situ labelling of chromosomes is the oligonucleotide primed in situ labelling (PRINS) technique. So far, this has mainly been used to demonstrate subtle changes in metaphase spreads. The aim of the present study was to investigate the suitability of PRINS for detecting chromosome gains or losses in interphase nuclei. This technique was compared with FISH analysis by examining the bone marrow cells of ten patients in whom the karyotypes were known from conventional chromosome banding. Corresponding results by both PRINS and FISH were obtained for chromosomes 1, 3, 7, 8, and Y in five patients with normal chromosome patterns, as well as in five patients with clonal karyotype changes, e.g., monosomy 7, trisomy 8, or loss of the Y chromosome. Being faster and approximately ten times less expensive, PRINS can replace FISH for detecting numerical karyotype changes. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.