Calcified Abdominal Pregnancy With Eighteen Years Of Evolution: Case Report.

CONTEXT: The lithopedion (calcified abdominal pregnancy) is a rare phenomenon and there are less than 300 cases reported in the medical literature. CASE REPORT: In this case, a 40 year-old patient had had her only pregnancy 18 years earlier, without medical assistance since then. She came to our hospital with pain and tumoral mass of approximately 20 centimeters in diameter. Complementary examinations (abdominal X-ray, ultrasonography and computerized tomography) demonstrated an extra-uterine abdominal 31-week pregnancy with calcification areas. Exploratory laparotomy was performed, with extirpation of a well-conserved fetus with partially calcified ovular membranes.118619219

Genetically modified NT2N human neuronal cells mediate long-term gene expression as CNS grafts in vivo and improve functional cognitive outcome following experimental traumatic brain injury

Human Ntera-2 (NT2) cells can be differentiated in vitro into well-characterized Populations of NT2N neurons that engraft and mature when transplanted into the adult CNS of rodents and humans. Them ha e shown promise as treatments for neurologic disease, trauma, and ischemic stroke. Although these features suggest that NT2N neurons would be an excellent platform for ex vivo gene therapy in the CNS, stable gene expression has been surprisingly difficult to achieve in these cells. In this report we demonstrate stable, efficient. and nontoxic gene transfer into undifferentiated NT2 cells using a pseudotyped lentiviral vector encoding the human elongation factor 1-alpha promoter and the reporter gene eGFP, Expression of eGFP was maintained when the NT2 cells were differentiated into NT2N neurons after treatment with retinoic acid, When transplanted into the striatum of adult nude mice, transduced NT2N neurons survived, engrafted, and continued to express the reporter gene for long-term time points in vivo. Furthermore. transplantation of NT2N neurons genetically modified to express nerve growth factor significantly attenuated cognitive dysfunction following traumatic brain injure in mice. These results demonstrate that defined populations of genetically modified human NT2N neurons are a practical and effective platform for stable ex vivo gene delivery into the CNS

Cervical Bacterial Colonization In Women With Preterm Labor Or Premature Rupture Of Membranes [colonização Bacteriana Do Canal Cervical Em Gestantes Com Trabalho De Parto Prematuro Ou Ruptura Prematura De Membranas]

PURPOSE: to study cervical colonization in women with preterm labor or premature rupture of membranes. METHODS: two hundred and twelve pregnant women with preterm labor or premature rupture of membranes were studied. Two cervical samples from each woman were collected and bacterioscopy and culture were performed. Association of cervical microorganisms and urinary tract infection, chorioamnionitis, fetal stress, antibiotic use, prematurity, neonatal infection, and neonatal death were evaluated. RESULTS: the prevalence of endocervical colonization was 14.2% (CI95%=9.5-18.9%), with similar results in preterm labor or premature rupture of membranes. Group B streptococcus was the most prevalent organism (9.4%). Other organisms isolated were Candida sp, Streptococcus sp, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus sp. The most common findings of bacterioscopy were a reduced number of lactobacilli and a great number of leukocytes. Endocervical colonization was associated with a higher occurrence of urinary tract infection (23.8 versus 5.4%; p<0.01), early-onset neonatal infection (25.0 versus 7.3%; p<0.01) and neonatal mortality (two cases in colonized women; p<0.02) when compared with a negative culture of endocervical mucus. CONCLUSIONS: this study showed high prevalence of endocervical colonization despite the use of a nonselective culture media. The main microorganism isolated was group B streptococcus, but other organisms were present in one third of the studied population. 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