The interaction of trichomonas vaginalis with epithelial cells, polymorphonuclear leucocytes and erythrocytes on vaginal smears: light microscopic observation.

In this study, vaginal smears taken from 400 patients were examined cytologically using the Papanicolaou technique. Twenty of the 400 patients were detected as harbouring Trichomonas vaginalis. The interactions of T. vaginalis with epithelial cells, polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNLs) and erythrocytes were determined at light microscopic level. It was observed that T. vaginalis were juxtaposed to the epithelial cells and changed shape according to the contours of the epithelial cell revealing the cytopathic effect of trichomonads on epithelial cells. Trichomonads attached to PMNLs produced pseudopodia to phagocytose the cells. Occasionally an amoeboid shaped T. vaginalis organism was seen trailed by a row of PMNLs. This light microscopic study supports the production by trichomonads of a chemotactic factor for PMNLs. Phagocytosed erythrocytes were also seen in the cytoplasm of T. vaginalis, suggesting the need for the patient to be tested for anaemia.

Robinow syndrome, vaginal atresia, hematocolpos, and extra middle finger.

A 14-year-old girl with Robinow syndrome was admitted with severe abdominal pain that had recurred periodically during the last 6 months. She had been followed by us since age 2 months and she had not experienced menarche yet; hematocolpos related to vaginal atresia was diagnosed. She underwent vaginoplasty with cervical construction. Genital system abnormalities are common in Robinow syndrome, but this kind of malformation has not been reported previously.

Prenatal diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies in Turkey: Hacettepe experience.

Prenatal diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies was performed in 250 fetuses at risk for hemoglobinopathies. The main diagnostic procedures were in vitro hemoglobin synthesis analysis in fetal blood and analysis of DNA obtained from chorionic villus samples. Sixty-six percent of the fetuses were at risk for beta thalassemia major and 28% for sickle cell anemia. Beta thalassemia mutations were heterogenous, and 51 fetuses examined by the DNA technique were found to be at risk for at least 20 different combinations.

Premarital screening of hemoglobinopathies: a pilot study in Turkey.

To identify premarital couples who are carriers for hemoglobinopathies, a screening study was conducted in one of the southern cities of Turkey. For 2,113 couples, total blood count, Hb A2 and Hb F levels were determined and hemoglobin electrophoresis was performed. The frequency of Hb S was 4.6% and beta thalassemia 2.3%. In 35 of 2,113 prospective families, both partners were found to be carriers. During the 4-year follow-up period, prenatal diagnosis was sought in 10 pregnancies of these at-risk families. This study indicated that premarital screening is a very useful tool for detecting carrier couples. The immediate beneficial effect of this study was the application of prenatal hemoglobinopathy diagnosis from the first pregnancy.

Effect of encapsulation of chloramphenicol in albumin microspheres on its in vitro transfer across the human placenta.

The possibility of reducing drug transfer across the placenta was tested in two of our previous studies. The aim of those studies was to demonstrate an alternative method of drug application during pregnancy which we think would yield a dual benefit, i.e. protecting the foetus from the harmful effects of drugs while curing the mother. The present study was planned as a continuation of the testing of the same idea and we tried to see the effect of albumin microsphere encapsulation of chloramphenicol on its transfer across the human placenta in vitro. Microspheres containing chloramphenicol were prepared according to the method previously described. The mean per cent encapsulation of chloramphenicol in albumin microspheres was found to be 42 +/- 4.3 per cent (n = 5) and the mean size of the albumin microspheres was 3.08 +/- 0.6 mm. In vitro stability of the drug-carrying microspheres was measured by dialysing them at 37 degrees C for 24 h. Chloramphenicol was released from the microspheres gradually leaving about 50 per cent of the entrapped drug in the microspheres after 1.5 h. About 20 per cent of the chloramphenicol was retained in the microspheres at 24 h postincubation. The persistence of the antibacterial effect of the released chloramphenicol is confirmed by antibiogramme tests. In the perfusions the initial free drug concentration was kept at 100 mg/ml.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Prenatal diagnosis of sickle cell anemia using PCR and restriction enzyme Dde I.

Prenatal diagnosis of sickle cell anemia was carried out in four fetuses using DNA technology. Fetal chorionic villus specimen were obtained at the 10th week of pregnancy from women at risk of giving birth to children with sickle cell anemia. Whole cellular DNA was obtained and the part of the DNA presumed to have a mutation increased after PCR was performed. After the application of Dde I restriction enzyme, mini gel electrophoresis was performed. The study of the electrophoretic patterns of the DNA indicated that one of the four fetuses was unaffected, one was a carrier and the remaining two were affected.

Meckel Gruber syndrome: a case diagnosed in utero.

A case of Meckel Gruber syndrome is presented, diagnosed prenatally from the medical history of the mother which revealed a previous malformed stillborn with anencephaly, meningomyelocele, polydactyly and ambiguous genitalia. This was the first prenatally diagnosed case ever reported in Turkey. The clinical, computed tomography and postmortem findings and the related literature are reviewed.

Quantities of adult, fetal and embryonic globin chains in the blood of eighteen- to twenty-week-old human fetuses.

The prenatal diagnostic program, established at Hacettepe University in Ankara for the purpose of detecting beta-thalassemia (beta-thal), sickle cell anemia (SS), and Hb S-beta-thal, offered the opportunity of evaluating the relative quantities of adult (beta A, beta S), fetal (G gamma, A gamma, A gamma T), and embryonic (epsilon, zeta) chains in 26 fetuses, aged 18-20 weeks. Methodology involved micro high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedures and immunology using an mAb, specific for the embryonic epsilon chain. A good correlation was observed between the beta/gamma in vitro chain synthesis ratio and the level of beta A and/or beta S chains determined by reversed-phase HPLC; the combination of these two sets of data strengthens the prenatal diagnostic approach of detecting beta-thal major but not beta-thal trait. The levels of the different gamma chains were about as observed in newborn babies; the frequency of the A gamma T variant in the 26 fetuses was the same as observed for a larger group of Turkish newborn babies. The level of the embryonic zeta chain was higher than seen in full-term babies and varied between 0 and 1.3%; 5 of the 26 fetuses showed the complete absence of zeta. The embryonic epsilon chain was not detectable, not even in babies with beta-thal major. These data indicate that the synthesis of epsilon is completely turned off in fetuses at the age of 18-20 weeks, while that of zeta continues, albeit at a low level.

Prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis in a Turkish family.

Prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) was made in a Turkish family whose first born child was diagnosed at necropsy as having CF. Two consecutive pregnancies followed. The fetus of the second pregnancy was diagnosed as having CF by the microvillar enzyme assay and was aborted. The diagnosis was verified by the DNA polymerase chain reaction analysis using chorionic villi from the abortus. In the third pregnancy, amniocentesis was performed in the 17th week, and KM19 polymorphism linked to CF was used to assess the status of the fetus. Since the fetus was determined to be a carrier, the family was advised to continue with the pregnancy.