Acardiac twin pregnancy: successful intrauterine ablative treatment with alcohol at 14 weeks of gestation.

Twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence is a serious condition of monochorionic twin pregnancy, occurring in approximately one in 35,000 cases. First trimester treatment of TRAP sequence is controversial with higher incidence of procedure related complications. Present case demonstrates a TRAP sequence that was managed by intrauterine treatment with one-ml 100% pure alcohol injection into the abdominal part of the umbilical artery and obliteration of the acardiac twin at 14 weeks of gestation. Antenatal follow-up was uneventful and elective cesarean section was performed at 39 weeks' gestation. Postnatal outcome of the pump twin was excellent at 30 months after birth. Early second trimester elective ablation by alcohol injection can be an inexpensive, alternative, and reasonable minimal invasive treatment option to prevent fetal loss of pump twin before mid and late second trimester in perinatology centers where intrafetal cord occlusive methods are not available.

Low molecular weight heparin and first trimester maternal PAPP-A and hCG levels, fetal nuchal translucency in the first trimester of pregnancy.

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION: We studied the relation of first trimester nuchal translucency and first trimester biochemical markers using low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) at 11-14 weeks of gestation. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted at our university between January 2007 and July 2009. Ninety-six patients were treated with low-dose LMWHs (enoxaparine 40 mg) from the beginning of pregnancy to 36 weeks of gestation and low-dose aspirin (100 mg) to 32 weeks (group 1) and 100 control subjects (group 2) were included in the study. Transabdominal ultrasound examination was performed to diagnose any major fetal defects and for measurement of crown rump length (CRL) and fetal nuchal translucency (NT) thickness. Blood samples were drawn from each women PAPP-A and free beta hCG levels. RESULTS: There were no significant differences with respect to age, gestational age at the first trimester, and gestational age at birth between the groups. The mean birth weight of babies in the LMWH group was lower than the control (p = 0.026). There were also no significant differences with respect to CRL, serum PAPP-A and hCG at 11-14 weeks of gestation. However, NT of group 1 was significantly lower than group 2 (p = 0.000). In the Spearman correlation, LMWH was negatively correlated with only NT (r = -0.298, p = 0.000). NT in the first trimester (95% CI -0.632-0.230, p = 0.000) was an independent parameter related to using LMWH. CONCLUSION: Women who used LMWH during pregnancy had decreased NT compared with unaffected women.

Impact of morbid obesity in surgical management of endometrial cancer: surgical morbidity, clinical and pathological aspects.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on clinical, surgical, pathologic features, and surgical morbidity in the management of patients with endometrial cancer. MATERIALS & METHODS: All endometrial cancer patients who were surgically treated in our institution between January 1, 2003 and January 1, 2006 were eligible for the study. Forty-two out of 60 patients were included in the analysis from our cancer database. The patients were divided into three groups: BMI < 30, BMI 30-40, BMI > 40. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS for Windows (version 11; SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL). RESULTS: Lymphadenectomy as part of surgical staging was performed in 90.5% of all patients. Although patients with a BMI > 40 were less likely to have positive lymph vascular space invasion (LVSI) (p = 0.042), chance of deep myometrial invasion and positive lymph nodes (18%) were the same as for patients with a BMI < 30. Patients with a BMI > 40 had statistically longer operating times when compared to patients with a BMI < 40 (p = 0.039). Wound separation rate was statistically higher in the morbidly obese patients (p = 0.01). Average number of lymph nodes removed, hospital days, intraoperative and overall postoperative complication rates did not differ among the three groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that comprehensive surgical staging can be performed adequately and safely in obese and morbidly obese endometrial cancer patients with no difference in length of hospital stay, intraoperative or postoperative complications. As a result adjuvant treatment of morbidly obese patients can be planned accordingly preventing under or over treatment.

Expression of survivin, PTEN and p27 in normal, hyperplastic, and carcinomatous endometrium.

We aimed to investigate if expressions of survivin and p27 proteins are involved in the development of endometrioid carcinoma, along with whether there are any correlations between these proteins and loss of wild-type PTEN that is found in up to 80% of endometrial carcinomas. We also studied their correlations with classical prognostic factors and survival in endometrial carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the first time survivin expression is investigated in endometrial hyperplasia along with endometrioid adenocarcinoma. For immunohistochemical analysis, 29 endometrioid adenocarcinoma, 38 endometrial hyperplasia, and 10 proliferative endometrium tissue samples were selected in the pathology archives. Staining of cells was scored as +2 if >50%, +1 if <50%, and negative if none were stained positive. Survivin expression increased from proliferative to hyperplasia to carcinoma cases. PTEN and p27 expressions decreased in hyperplasia and carcinoma cases with respect to proliferative endometrium. All these differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). PTEN positively correlated to p27 (P < 0.05); however, neither was correlated with survivin. None of these genes were correlated with classical prognostic factors such as grade and myometrial invasion in endometrioid adenocarcinoma. However, mean survival was statistically significantly higher in PTEN-positive cases (46.6 vs 16.4 months) (P < 0.05). Survivin overexpression might be one of the important mechanisms in the development of endometrioid adenocarcinoma along with lost or decreased activity of PTEN and p27. However, survivin seems to exert its role in ways different from those of PTEN or p27 in the development of endometrioid adenocarcinoma. These findings on the role of survivin in endometrioid adenocarcinoma should be confirmed and the pathways through which survivin acts in endometrioid adenocarcinoma studied further with a larger sample size.

Early onset of subclinical atherosclerosis in women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a non-invasively assessed marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. Our aim in this study was to investigate CIMT in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: Thirty women with GDM and 40 unaffected women (as a control group) were included in the study. Blood samples were drawn from each woman in the morning after they had fasted for at least 8 h, and levels of fasting glucose, insulin, homocysteine, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol were measured, along with the CIMT in the two groups. RESULTS: The mean triglyceride (P = 0.016) and VLDL cholesterol (P = 0.011) levels in the GDM group were significantly higher than those in the unaffected women. There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to plasma levels of total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and insulin. The mean homocysteine (P = 0.027) and fasting glucose (P = 0.019) levels in women with GDM were significantly higher than those in the control group. Patients with GDM had significantly higher CIMT than did the unaffected women (0.582 +/- 0.066 mm vs. 0.543 +/- 0.049 mm, P = 0.006). CIMT correlated positively with maternal age (r = 0.316, P = 0.008), body mass index (BMI) at the time of a 50-g oral glucose load test (r = 0.414, P = 0.001) and homocysteine levels (r = 0.332, P = 0.008), and fasting glucose (r = 0.265, P = 0.031) and 1-h glucose value (r = 0.410, P = 0.001) at the time of the oral glucose tolerance test. There was a positive correlation between the presence of GDM and CIMT (r = 0.372, P = 0.001). However, stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that GDM/no GDM (95% CI +0.012 to +0.076, P = 0.008) and BMI at the time of the 50-g test (95% CI +0.001 to +0.009, P = 0.011) were independent parameters related to CIMT. CONCLUSION: Women with GDM have increased CIMT compared with unaffected women.

Well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma complicating endometrial carcinoma: a case report.

We present a case of well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma discovered during staging surgery for endometrial carcinoma in a 50-year-old postmenopausal woman. In case of simultaneous well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma (WDPM) and endometrial carcinoma, the surgeon may be mistaken by considering peritoneal implants as tumor metastasis. This situation may result in overtreatment of the patient. Thus a thorough pathologic examination of the specimens taking care not to miss any areas of invasion, and utilizing immunohistochemical analysis when necessary are important to avoid such mistakes. To our knowledge this is the first report of the simultaneous occurrence of endometrial carcinoma in conjunction with diffuse WDPM of the peritoneum.

BCL-2 and P53 expression in endometrial carcinoma.

Our aim was to compare the results of bcl-2 expression in endometrial carcinoma with clinicopathological prognostic factors along with p53 accumulation. In addition, p53 expression was compared to different subtypes of endometrial carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue sections by using Bcl-2 Supersensitive Mouse Anti-Bcl-2 Oncoprotein (Biogenex AM287-5M) for bcl-2 immunostaining and Supersensitive Mouse Anti-p53 Suppressor Gene Product (1801) (Biogenex AM 240-5M) for p53 immunostaining. 9 out of 9 cases of proliferative endometrium, 5/5 cases of endometrial hyperplasia without atypia, 5/5 cases with atypia, and 21/35 cases of endometrial carcinoma showed bcl-2 protein expression. Bcl-2 expression was not related to age, surgical stage, or histopathological features, nor was there an inverse correlation between bcl-2 and p53 expression in endometrial carcinoma. p53 expression was detected in 3/4 cases of serous papillary carcinoma, whereas only 5/31 cases of endometrioid carcinoma showed p53 expression. Bcl-2 expression decreased in endometrial carcinomas, and mechanisms other than p53 may play a role in the regulation of bcl-2 expression in endometrial carcinoma. Abnormal p53 protein expression is an important event in the development of serous tumors, which may explain partly why they are more aggressive than their endometrioid counterparts where p53 expression does not play a major role.

Tear function tests and conjunctival impression cytology before and after hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on postmenopausal tear function and the conjunctival epithelium. METHODS: Schirmer I-Jones test, tear film break-up time (BUT), and impression cytology findings were analyzed in 34 eyes of 17 women who were at least two years postmenopausal and not taking HRT: This series of tests was repeated after three months on HRT. RESULTS: The patients' average age was 53.82 +/- 3.6 years, and the mean time postmenopause was 35.29 +/- 11.59 months. There was no significant difference in the Schirmer I-Jones test results before and after three months of HRT (p > 0.05). However, the BUT (p < 0.05) and impression cytology (p < 0.05) findings were significantly affected by HRT. CONCLUSIONS: HRT may alleviate postmenopausal dry eye symptoms by increasing goblet cell density.

Submucosal leiomyoma of the uterus incorporated into the fetal membranes and mimicking a placental neoplasm: a case report.

Leiomyoma of the placenta is uncommon. We present a leiomyoma of the fetal membranes that was incidentally discovered on examination of a spontaneously expulsed placenta following Caesarean section. Although it is an uncommon entity, it is known that leiomyomas may arise from the vasculature nourishing the fetal membranes. The baby was male and genetic studies were performed to detect Y chromosome in tumoral tissue. Polymerase chain reaction technique demonstrated Y chromosome in placental tissue but not in tumour tissue. Thus the tumour was finally diagnosed as incorporated benign uterine leiomyoma.

Detection of insulin resistance in Turkish adults: a hospital-based study.

AIM: The aim of the present study was to investigate the usefulness of insulin sensitivity check indices in our hospital population. METHODS: Both HOMA (insulin X glucose in mmol/l/22.5) and QUICKI (1/log insulin in microu/ml + log glucose in mg/dl) indices were calculated from fasting values in 1,774 subjects from the medical records of Baskent University Adana Hospital. RESULTS: Subjects with diabetes, hyperlipidaemia and central obesity were characterized by significantly higher HOMA and lower QUICKI indices than those of healthy subjects. A fall in the QUICKI index (0.3469 +/- 0.028 in healthy subjects and 0.3247 +/- 0.025 in non-obese diabetics) as well as an increase in HOMA index (2.24 +/- 1.26 in healthy subjects and 3.59 +/- 2.08 in non-obese diabetics) corresponded to metabolic and clinical manifestations of insulin resistance in various groups of subjects. Age, low HDL cholesterol, male sex, type 2 DM and hypertension were independent risk factors for CAD. Age, male sex, waist circumference and CAD were found to be risk factors for hypertension. Fasting insulin and glucose levels contain sufficient information to assess insulin sensitivity over a wide range in a diverse population. The following can be accepted as mean values to assess insulin resistance in our hospital population: 0.3469 +/- 0.028 for the QUICKI index and 2.24 +/- 1.26 for the HOMA index CONCLUSIONS: HOMA and QUICKI indices are simple and reproducible methods for determining insulin sensitivity in humans.

Endoscopy in hyperemesis gravidarum and Helicobacter pylori infection.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a relationship between hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) and Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) infection by histologic testing. METHODS: Twenty patients with severe HG (Group I) and 10 volunteer pregnant women without gastric complaints (Group II) were included in the study. Endoscopic evaluations were done in both groups and biopsies were obtained from the antrum and corpus for the histopathologic diagnosis of H. pylori. The groups were compared with the chi(2)-test and Fisher's exact test where appropriate. RESULTS: H. pylori was diagnosed in 19 (95%) of 20 patients in Group I and 5 (50%) of 10 patients in group II. H. pylori densities in the antrum and corpus were higher in Group I and the differences between the two groups were statistically significant. The biopsy specimens revealed significant inflammation and H. pylori activation processes in patients with HG, and in 18 of 19 patients inflammation scores were greater than +2 on the scale. Pangastritis was demonstrated by endoscopic examination in 17 of 20 patients with HG. Enterogastric reflux was also diagnosed in 10 patients. In the control group, three patients had antral gastritis. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that in patients with intractable nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, pangastritis and enterogastric reflux are the main endoscopic findings and that these findings are closely associated with H. pylori infection, which can be diagnosed histologically. The degree of gastric complaints may be associated with the density of H. pylori infection.

Comparison of the criteria forgestational diabetes mellitus by NDDG and Carpenter and Coustan, and the outcomes of pregnancy.

This is a retrospective study to compare the criteria for diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) by the National Diabetes Data Group (NDDG), and Carpenter and Coustan criteria, and to study the outcome of GDM when diagnosed by the more sensitive criteria. Six hundred and sixty-two pregnant women were included in this study from the medical records between September 1998 and April 2001. GDM was positive in 6.50% of patients according to Carpenter and Coustan and in 4.08% of patients according to NDDG criteria. Women with GDM were older, had higher fasting and glucose challenge test (GCT) glucose levels, and fetal weight than the normal women. Hypoglycemia was observed only in one infant. Regarding pre-term delivery and pre-eclampsia, there was no significant difference between the groups. Age, delivery week and fetal weight of patients who had caesarian delivery were significantly higher than spontaneous vaginal delivery. Prevalence of macrosomia in GDM group was higher than in the normal group. There was a significant correlation between the macrosomia and number of positive blood glucose values during OGTT. In multivariate analyses, fasting, GCT and second hour OGTT blood glucose levels, mean parity, and delivery week were independent risk factors for fetal weight. Carpenter and Coustan criteria is more sensitive than the NDDG criteria and women with GDM had a higher frequency of macrosomia and the frequency of macrosomia increases by the number of positive blood glucose levels during OGTT. Tight glycemic control might decrease the prevalence of caesarian delivery, pre-eclampsia, pre-term delivery and hypoglycemia of the infant.

Autoimmune thyroid disease in pregnancy and the postpartum period: relationship to spontaneous abortion.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease and the risk of miscarriage in autoimmune thyroid antibody (ATA)-positive women. Eight hundred seventy-six subjects completed the study, and 12.3% were thyroid antibody-positive (4.5% tested positive for both thyroid peroxidase antibody [TPO-Ab] and thyroglobulin autoantibody [Tg-Ab], 4.79% were TPO-Ab-positive only, and 3.1% were Tg-Ab-positive only). Fifty percent of the ATA-positive women and 14.1% of the ATA-negative group had a history of spontaneous abortion. Forty-eight of the ATA-positive women developed postpartum autoimmune thyroid dysfunction (PATD). Of these, 50% had hypothyroidism alone, 31.3% had transient hyperthyroidism followed by hypothyroidism, and 18.8% had transient thyrotoxicosis alone. Of the 48 PATD subjects, 12.5% developed persistent hypothyroidism. None of the ATA-negative women developed any form of thyroid dysfunction. The thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in the ATA-positive group were significantly higher than those in the ATA-negative group, and only the ATA-positive women with a history of abortion had significantly higher TSH and lower free thyroxine (FT4) concentrations than the other subgroups. The results revealed a 5.5% prevalence rate for PATD in the study population. In addition to TPO-Ab, Tg-Ab is a useful marker for autoimmune thyroiditis.

Familial müllerian agenesis.

Müllerian agenesis is characterized by the absence of the fallopian tubes, uterus and internal portion of the vagina. Patients have normal female phenotype and genotype, with normal secondary sex characteristics but with amenorrhea. We report a family in which müllerian agenesis was diagnosed in three siblings and their two paternal aunts. This family was ascertained when the proband was evaluated for primary amenorrhea. She had normal secondary sexual development. Her karyotype was 46, XX. Ultrasound examination and magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis revealed absence of the uterus and vagina. The proband had three sisters and two of them showed similar physical and radiological findings. Two of the proband's paternal aunts had no uterus. Although the pathogenesis of müllerian agenesis is well understood, the etiology and genetics are still unknown. Various forms of inheritance patterns have been suggested by several authors. In conclusion, it would appear that müllerian agenesis is influenced by multifactorial inheritance and polygenic and familial factors.

Midtrimester termination of complicated pregnancy with oral misoprostol.

To define the mean effective dose of oral misoprostol, a PGE2 methylanalogue, for terminating midtrimester complicated pregnancy without producing significant side-effects and complications, forty-two patients with intrauterine complicated pregnancies of 14-28 weeks were treated with oral misoprostol. All patients were observed after the initial dose (200 micrograms). If there was no contraction of the uterus or no vaginal bleeding, a supplementary dose of 200 micrograms misoprostol was given once each hour, with an average total dose of 1000 micrograms being given (min. 200 micrograms, max. 1200 micrograms). Abortion was successfully induced in 39 women (92.9%); there were 3 failures (7.1%). The mean time from initial dose to abortion was 9 h. No important side-effects or complications were noted. This study demonstrated that the use of oral misoprostol is a simple, inexpensive and easy procedure for termination of second trimester complicated pregnancy.