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Biomedical subjects

J F Oury

Publications and source records attributed to J F Oury.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Hyperechogenic fetal bowel: an ultrasonographic marker for adverse fetal and neonatal outcome.

OBJECTIVE: Fetal hyperchogenic bowel is associated with a variety of conditions, the incidence of which has yet to be studied. STUDY DESIGN: The outcomes of 182 cases of fetal hyperechogenic bowel were reviewed. Screening for maternal toxoplasmosis, fetal karyotyping, and amniotic fluid digestive enzyme assays were performed in all cases. Eight mutations associated with cystic fibrosis were analyzed in 116 cases. RESULTS: Of 135 newborns, 121 were normal, but nine underwent surgery for gastrointestinal obstruction, three had cytomegalovirus or parvovirus infection, one had a triple X chromosome, and one died from sudden infant death syndrome. In utero fetal death was observed in 24 cases. Elective termination of pregnancy was performed in 23 cases for associated anomalies. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperechogenic fetal bowel was associated with increased risk for adverse outcome. Prenatal management should include ultrasonographic surveillance, fetal karyotyping, amniotic digestive enzyme assays, and screening for cystic fibrosis and infectious disease.

Amniocentesis

Effects of neuromuscular blockade on fetal heart rate variability: a power spectrum analysis.

Spectral analysis of fetal heart rate variability allows quantitative determination of the main components that affect this variability. The physiological significance of these components is unclear; however, movements appear to contribute to variability. We studied six fetuses in which immobility required for in utero magnetic resonance or invasive fetal procedures was achieved by fetal intravascular injection of curare between 32 and 36 amenorrhea weeks. For each fetus, we compared spectral density parameters of heart rate variability. After curare administration, mean spectrum power was halved. We did not observe a larger significant decrease in any (very low, low, or high) frequency band. The other parameters of spectral analysis of variability were unaltered. Fetal movements accounted for a significant proportion of human fetal heart rate variability but did not constitute a unique frequency component.

Curare

Do racial differences exist in second-trimester maternal hCG levels? A study of 23,369 patients.

In Down syndrome screening by maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) determination at 15, 16, 17, and 18 weeks of gestation, we prospectively examined 23,369 sera from white (21,549), North African (970), black African (525), and Asian (325) patients. When expressed as multiples of the median (MOM), no difference was observed between white, North African, and black African patients. However, higher serum hCG concentrations were noted in Asians, for whom we therefore recommend correction of hCG values before calculation of the risk of Down syndrome.

Asian People

[Has the use of indomethacin during pregnancy consequences in newborn infants? Prospective study of 83 pregnant women and 115 newborn infants].

BACKGROUND: Prolonged exposure of pregnant women to indomethacin for tocolysis may have significant effects on the fetus or neonate, but their incidence is still debated. POPULATION AND METHODS: From January 1990 to July 1991, 83 pregnant women were prospectively given indomethacin for treatment of premature labor, after ineffective course of salbutamol. The initial dose of indomethacin was 100 mg, then the daily dose was 50 mg while salbutamol was continued. Indomethacin was discontinued beyond the 33rd week of gestational age. Efficacy of indomethacin was judged upon the disappearance of uterine contractions and the increased duration of pregnancy from the onset of treatment until delivery. Adverse effects of treatment were evaluated in the neonates. RESULTS: The mean duration of indomethacin administration was 16 days (range: 1-62 days); the mean total dose was 900 mg (range: 100-4500 mg). The reason for discontinuation of the treatment was its efficacy (41 patients), a gestational age of 33 weeks (12 patients), oligoamnios (21 patients), demonstration of fetal abnormalities (two patients). The mean interval between discontinuation of treatment and delivery was 5 weeks. Fourty three of the 58 patients who were given indomethacin before the 30rd week were delivered after the 33rd week. There was no adverse effect in the women and babies; all oligoamnios were spontaneously reversible. One hundred and fifteen babies were born including 12 who died during the first post-natal days. The rate of admission in an intensive care unit was similar to that of untreated pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS: Indomethacin can be safely used for treatment of premature labor provided that its administration is carefully monitored.

Female

Clinical and pharmacologic study of fetal supraventricular tachyarrhythmias.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of maternal digoxin administration in 16 cases of fetal supraventricular tachyarrhythmia diagnosed by fetal echocardiography; cardiac anatomy was normal in all cases. The retrospective analysis included nine mothers who received digoxin orally in most cases, with control of the arrhythmia in two fetuses. The addition of amiodarone (five cases) and propranolol (two cases) yielded two successes with amiodarone. The therapeutic regimen of digoxin was then modified on the basis of poor response to orally administered digoxin. In the prospective study, digoxin was administered intravenously to seven mothers according to a standard protocol; high doses (1 to 2 mg intravenously) were prescribed for the first 24 hours and intravenous digoxin therapy was maintained for at least 5 days, depending on the fetal response. Digoxin pharmacokinetic studies of four mothers showed an increased plasma clearance and reduced elimination half-life. Digoxin controlled the five supraventricular tachycardias (with hydrops in four cases). Maternal flecainide therapy restored sinus rhythm in two cases of atrial flutter. Our prospective study emphasizes the efficacy and safety for the fetus and the mother of intravenously administered digoxin as a first-choice drug in the treatment of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. Flecainide may be a promising second-choice drug but requires further clinical investigation. Amiodarone and propranolol seem to be ineffective.

Digoxin

Comparison of T cell functional changes during childhood with the ontogeny of CDw29 and CD45RA expression on CD4+ T cells.

The ontogeny of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells' responsiveness to various activators during childhood was studied and compared to the expression of CDw29 and CD45RA molecules at the surface of CD4+ T cells. The results show that newborn peripheral blood mononuclear cells are characterized by a responsiveness to mitogens that is higher than that observed in adults, at least shortly after stimulation. This contrasts with a clear decreased response to CD2 and CD3 MAb at any time after stimulation. These functional characteristics correlate with a low density of CDw29 antigen on virtually all CD4+ T cells and a high density of CD45RA antigen on most CD4+ T cells at birth. These patterns of reactivity and phenotype are similar to those found among naive adult T cells. When ageing, the response to mitogens becomes rapidly similar to the adult's values, whereas the responses to CD2 or CD3 MAb are more gradually acquired. This slow rate of functional changes grossly parallels the increase of CDw29+ CD4+ and the decrease of CD45RA+ CD4+ T cell subsets. These changes finally lead to the immunophenotypic and functional characteristics that are typical of adult memory T cells. These results suggest that iterative antigenic stimulations both induce memory T cells and create the conditions to improve the overall immune competence.

Adolescent

First-trimester diagnosis of hypophosphatasia. Importance of gestational age and purity of CV samples.

Prenatal diagnosis of hypophosphatasia was made by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay on a chorionic villous sample taken in the first trimester. Very low activities of the LBK isoenzymes indicated an affected fetus. Diagnosis was confirmed at 12 weeks of gestation by measurement of LBK isoenzyme activities in fetal bone tissue. In control chorionic villous samples an inverse relation was observed between LBK and placental ALP percentage during gestational age. High LBK ALP activities are observed in decidual tissue. Chorionic villous tissue must not be sampled after 12 weeks of gestation and decidual tissue must be excluded from the sample.

Alkaline Phosphatase

Prenatal diagnosis of mucolipidosis type II on first-trimester amniotic fluid.

We investigated the possibility of prenatal diagnosis of mucolipidosis type II (ML II) by lysosomal enzyme determination on amniotic fluid obtained at 11 weeks of gestation in three pregnancies at risk. Diagnosis of ML II was made in one case on the basis of increased levels of five lysosomal enzymes tested. The diagnosis was confirmed on cultured chorionic cells, their cultured medium, 17-week amniotic fluid, and fetal plasma obtained for confirmation prior to the termination of pregnancy.

Adult

Induction of labor with mifepristone (RU 486) in intrauterine fetal death.

In a double-blind controlled multicentric study involving 94 patients with an intrauterine fetal death, we investigated the efficacy and tolerance of mifepristone (RU 486), a steroid compound that antagonizes progesterone action at the receptor level. Success of treatment was defined as the occurrence of fetal expulsion within 72 hours after the first drug intake. Mifepristone treatment (600 mg per day for 2 days) was considered to be effective in 29 of 46 patients (63%). There were only eight successes in 48 patients (17.4%) in the placebo group (p = 0.001, chi 2 test). Tolerance was good in the mifepristone group. In the placebo group, disseminated intravascular coagulation occurred in one woman for whom the investigator waited several weeks for spontaneous expulsion. This large double-blind controlled study provides evidence that mifepristone is of interest in the management of intrauterine fetal death. It could provide a pharmacologic alternative to the use of prostaglandins in this indication.

Adult

First-trimester amniotic fluid acetylcholinesterase electrophoresis.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gel electrophoresis was performed on normal amniotic fluids obtained at 4-15 weeks of pregnancy. Until 8 weeks, all the fluids were AChE-positive; the percentage of positive specimens decreased from 9 until 11 weeks and no positive specimen was found after 12 weeks. This method may allow early prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects after the 12th week.

Acetylcholinesterase

Early prenatal diagnosis of 21-hydroxylase deficiency using amniotic fluid 17-hydroxyprogesterone determination and DNA probes.

The results of early prenatal diagnoses of congenital adrenal hyperplasia are reported. The determination of 17-hydroxyprogesterone values in amniotic fluid taken transabdominally at 11 weeks of gestation enabled prenatal diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase (21-OH) deficiency. There is a clear-cut difference between normal and pathological values at that time of pregnancy. This method of diagnosis can be combined with genotyping of the fetus by HLA-DNA probes on chorionic villus sampling or can be used alone. Prenatal diagnosis with a 21-OH probe is possible when a preliminary study has demonstrated that the index case is homozygous for the deletion.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone

[Antenatal echographic measurement of the fetal cerebellum. Significance in the evaluation of fetal development].

The authors present a study based on ultrasound measurements for the growth of the fetal cerebellum from the 17th-39th week of amenorrhoea (710 measurements carried out on 293 fetuses). Regular growth of the cerebellum seems to be independent of other biometric parameters and also of the population studied. This has been demonstrated by comparing it with curves that have been made by other teams. It should give an extra feature in investigating fetal growth. Studying the cerebellum in 12 cases of severe intra-uterine growth retardation (below the third centile at birth) which were discovered and followed up in our department shows that cerebellum growth is not altered by intra-uterine growth retardation even in severe cases. Because of this it can be a reliable sign of whether the pregnancy has gone to term.

Anthropometry

Prenatal diagnosis of propionic acidemia in chorionic villi by direct assay of propionyl CoA carboxylase.

Prenatal diagnosis of propionic acidemia was achieved by the direct assay of propionyl CoA carboxylase in chorionic villi. The diagnosis was confirmed by determination of methylcitrate in amniotic fluid and measurement of propionyl CoA carboxylase in the liver from the abortion. Discrepancy between [14C]-propionate incorporation into protein of chorionic villi or cultured chorionic cells and propionyl CoA carboxylase activity is reported.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors

Microvillar enzyme assays in amniotic fluid and fetal tissues at different stages of development.

A systematic study of microvillar enzyme activities in the amniotic fluid in correlation with their values in different fetal tissues during development has been undertaken. Microvillar enzymes appeared in the amniotic fluid at the time of disappearance of the anal membrane, 12-13 weeks, and declined from the 18th week until the 24th week. The study of fetal tissues and fluids has shown that gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase is mainly of liver origin. The significant decrease of the activities of these amniotic fluid enzymes has been the basis of prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. These assays may be useful for the diagnosis of certain digestive tract abnormalities at later stages of pregnancy.

Alkaline Phosphatase

[Percutaneous ultrasound-guided sampling of fetal blood].

The authors give their experience of percutaneous ultrasound-guided sampling of fetal blood carried out over a period of two years. They suggest a modification of the technique, using linear screening scanning. This has made it possible to reduce the number of unsuccessful attempts at sampling. An analysis of the indications and of the results in 49 attempts at puncture shows how to select the indications better. This is particularly so when fetal abnormalities have been found on ultrasound examination. The authors think that this method, because of its reliability and the speed with which results are obtained, should be a method of choice for screening for chromosome abnormalities which might be thought to exist from the pictures obtained by ultrasound.

Blood Specimen Collection

[HLA and molar pregnancies (triploidies, hydatidiform moles and choriocarcinoma). Etiological and epidemiological study].

Etiological and epidemiological studies of triploid and hydatidiform molar conceptuses were done using HLA polymorphism. The segregation of HLA markers allowed to know the etiology of 25 triploidies and 19 hydatidiform moles. Five other moles and a post molar choriocarcinoma were also studied by molecular hybridization. This confirms that triploidies in about 3/4 of the cases involved two sets of paternal chromosomes mainly by di-sperm. Hydatidiform moles from Algeria, France and Senegal were all of androgenic origin excepted for one case. DNA analysis of the choriocarcinoma demonstrated the presence of a paternal marker suggesting for this case a direct cellular lineage from the mole. Positive associations with HLA A 28 and B 7 were found which could be related to gametogenesis-fecundation dysfunction. A slight excess of antigens shared by parents of triploidies was shown. This was not observed for parents of hydatidiform moles but when they shared HLA antigens a preferential inheritance in the mole of the shared specificities was observed. This relative compatibility of the molar conceptus with the mother may be an element of the process that prevent its early rejection.

Choriocarcinoma

[Cervical dilatation by use of a vaginal suppository of meteneprost before voluntary interruption of the pregnancy in the first trimester].

Instrumental dilatation of the cervix prior to first trimester absorption may be difficult and source of complications. Pharmacological dilatation is proposed in a prospective random study using vaginal suppository containing 10 mg of 9-deoxo, 16-16 dimethyl, 9 methylene PGE2 (Meteneprost). Mean cervical dilatation, 3 hours after treatment, was significantly higher in the treated group (8.1 vs 6 mm) and additional dilatation was facilitated by cervical softening. Side effects occurred in most of the treated patients (uterine pain) but on a minor scale. This procedure may be considered as effective, safe and easy.

16,16-Dimethylprostaglandin E2