Clinical Significance of Preterm Singleton Pregnancies Complicated by Placental Abruption following Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes Compared with Those without p-PROM

The purpose of this paper was to examine the obstetric and neonatal outcomes of preterm singleton pregnancies complicated by placental abruption following preterm premature rupture of membranes (p-PROM) compared with those without p-PROM. We reviewed the obstetric records of 95 singleton deliveries complicated by placental abruption at 22–36 weeks' gestation. The incidence of placental abruption in singleton pregnancies with p-PROM was 4.7%, and the crude odds ratio of placental abruption for women following p-PROM was 6.50 (P < 0.01). Of the 95 cases of placental abruption in preterm singleton deliveries, 64 cases (67.4%) occurred without p-PROM and 31 cases (32.6%) occurred following p-PROM. The incidence of histological chorioamnionitis stage III in the patients following p-PROM was significantly higher than that in the patients without p-PROM (P = 0.02). The rate of emergency Cesarean deliveries associated with nonreassuring fetal status (NRFS) in the patients following p-PROM was significantly lower than that in the patients without p-PROM. However, there were no significant differences in the maternal and neonatal outcomes between the patients with and without p-PROM. Although p-PROM may be one of important risk factors for placental abruption associated with chorioamnionitis, it may not influence the perinatal outcomes in preterm placental abruption

Prevalence of rubella antibodies: comparison between women with pregnancy induced by infertility treatments and those with spontaneous pregnancy

The great rubella epidemic has been sometimes occurred in Japan. We compared the prevalence of rubella antibody in women with pregnancies conceived by infertility treatments and those conceived spontaneously. We reviewed the obstetric records of the Japanese nulliparous women with pregnancies conceived by infertility treatments who had deliveries at Japanese Red Cross Katsushika Maternity Hospital from 2014 to 2018. There were no significant differences in the rate of women whose rubella antibody titer &lt; 8 or &lt; 32, respectively between the 2 groups with pregnancies conceived by infertility treatments and conceived spontaneously (titer &lt; 8: 4.1 vs. 3.4%, p = 0.58: titer &lt; 32: 17.3 vs. 15.3%, p = 0.45). It is necessary to thoroughly implement the preconception care concerning the risk of congenital rubella infection for women who are undergoing infertility treatments especially in Japanese obstetricians

Pathogenesis-Related Proteins in Grape

An overview of major pathogens and their control, plant defense mechanisms, and pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins and their roles in pathogen control is presented herein. Vitis vinifera, including wine grape and table grape, is one of the most valuable horticultural crops in the world because of its commercial use. However, V. vinifera cultivars are extremely susceptible to pathogens, particularly fungi and oomycetes, such as Botrytis cinerea and Plasmopara viticola, respectively. Plants have various defense mechanisms to counter these pathogens. One example is induced resistance, which involves the induction of the immune system in the event of a pathogen attack, including the generation of PR proteins. Some PR proteins possess antimicrobial activity. PR proteins are classified into 17 families, some of which are found in grape. Thus, their roles in grape have been actively studied. A new strategy to increase plant resistance to pathogens has been developed. A good understanding of grape defense mechanism through PR proteins is expected to open new doors to improve grape quality and yield by efficiently controlling pathogens in the future

Long-Term Follow-up Posthematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in a Japanese Patient with Type-VII Mucopolysaccharidosis

The effectiveness of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for type-VII mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS VII, Sly syndrome) remains controversial, although recent studies have shown that it has a clinical impact. In 1998, Yamada et al. reported the first patient with MPS VII, who underwent HSCT at 12 years of age. Here, we report the results of a 22-year follow-up of that patient post-HSCT, who harbored the p.Ala619Val mutation associated with an attenuated phenotype. The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in physical symptoms, the activity of daily living (ADL), and the intellectual status in the 34-year-old female MPS VII patient post-HSCT, and to prove the long-term effects of HSCT in MPS VII. Twenty-two years after HSCT, the β-glucuronidase activity in leukocytes remained at normal levels, and urinary glycosaminoglycan excretion was reduced and kept within normal levels. At present, she is capable of sustaining simple conversation, and her intellectual level is equivalent to that of a 6-year-old. She can walk alone and climb upstairs by holding onto a handrail, although she feels mild pain in the hip joint. The cervical vertebrae are fused with the occipital bone, causing dizziness and light-headedness when the neck is bent back. Overall, her clinical condition has been stabilized and kept well for long-term post-HSCT, indicating that HSCT is a therapeutic option for MPS VII

Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IVA (MPS IVA, or Morquio syndrome type A) is an inherited metabolic lysosomal disease caused by the deficiency of the N-acetylglucosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase enzyme. The deficiency of this enzyme accumulates the specific glycosaminoglycans (GAG), keratan sulfate, and chondroitin-6-sulfate mainly in bone, cartilage, and its extracellular matrix. GAG accumulation in these lesions leads to unique skeletal dysplasia in MPS IVA patients. Clinical, radiographic, and biochemical tests are needed to complete the diagnosis of MPS IVA since some clinical characteristics in MPS IVA are overlapped with other disorders. Early and accurate diagnosis is vital to optimizing patient management, which provides a better quality of life and prolonged life-time in MPS IVA patients. Currently, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are available for patients with MPS IVA. However, ERT and HSCT do not have enough impact on bone and cartilage lesions in patients with MPS IVA. Penetrating the deficient enzyme into an avascular lesion remains an unmet challenge, and several innovative therapies are under development in a preclinical study. In this review article, we comprehensively describe the current diagnosis, treatment, and management for MPS IVA. We also illustrate developing future therapies focused on the improvement of skeletal dysplasia in MPS IVA

Fetal Heart Rate Patterns in Monochorionic Twins Following Acute Twin-Twin Transfusion

Background. We present here 2 cases of acute twin-twin transfusion occurred during vaginal labor in monochorionic-diamniotic twin pregnancies. Case. Fetal heart rate tracings showed tachycardia in the donor twin in the first case, while they showed reassuring patterns in both twins in the second case. Conclusion. These differences in changes of fetal heart rate in the donor twins following acute twin-twin transfusion may be resulted from the differences in amount of transfusion and elapsed time