Amniocentesis was performed in a pregnancy at risk for infantile sialic acid storage disease. Greatly elevated levels of free sialic acid were found in cell-free amniotic fluid as well as in cultured amniotic cells from the fetus at risk. After incubation of the cultured amniocytes with fetuin labelled in its sialic acid moiety, pulse and chase experiments respectively showed accumulation and impaired release of TCA-soluble radioactive material in the amniotic cells at risk. These data thus clearly indicated that the fetus was affected. After pregnancy termination, ultrastructural studies of fetal organs and placenta showed a generalized storage picture characterized by clear membrane-bound inclusions. The diagnosis was further confirmed by the finding of greatly increased amounts of free sialic acid in fetal organs and cultured fibroblasts.

Amniocentesis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Placental electron microscopy and histochemistry in a case of sialic acid storage disorder.

Morphological alterations in a placenta from a case of infantile sialic acid storage disease are described. Syncytiotrophoblast, villous capillary endothelial cells, amniotic and Hofbaüer cells were filled with membrane-bound inclusions which were either electron-lucent or contained fibrillogranular material. Hydrolysis of slides with neuraminidase demonstrated at six hours Alcian blue material which was not present in normal syncytium. The possibility that a storage disorder such as sialic acid storage disease can be accurately diagnosed by electron microscopy on chorion villous sampling at nine to ten weeks is emphasized.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Chorangiocarcinoma: an unusual tumour of the placenta. The missing link?

A tumour occurring in an otherwise normal placenta presented the vascularity of a mature chorangioma but was surrounded by a neoplastic trophoblastic proliferation. A chorangioma with an atypical associated trophoblastic proliferation has never been reported in any of nearly 500 cases of chorangiomas described in the literature. The possibility of a combined lesion (for which we propose the term chorangiocarcinoma) is emphasized. It cannot be excluded however that chorangiomas could be, in rare cases, true neoplasms rather than hamartomas.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Morphological aspects of the placenta in HIV pregnancies.

Forty-nine placentae from HIV-seropositive mothers were collected in various hospitals in France and Belgium. Twenty [corrected] placentae with seven fetuses from interrupted pregnancies and 29 [corrected] placentae from spontaneous deliveries, including two stillborns and a set of twins, were studied morphologically. No significant abnormalities were observed in the aborted material. The placentae corresponding to deliveries presented no significant gross abnormalities but the ratio of fetal to placental weight was significantly decreased in the study group compared with the control group (6.13 versus 7.41; P less than 0.001), associated with a congestive and mature aspect of the parenchyma. Histologically a high incidence of chorioamnionitis (43 per cent) was found, contrasting with the absence of villitis. A relative villous hypercellularity was observed in the study group compared with the control group. Ultrastructural studies of 13 placentae corresponding to gestations of 10 to 40 weeks are presented. In six cases, retrovirus-like particles were found at various sites, such as villous fibroblasts, syncytiotrophoblast and endothelial cells, and in the free membranes.

Abortion, Induced↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Development of the early human placenta: a morphometric study.

The placentae of 46 normal pregnancies artificially terminated between 6 and 15 weeks of gestation were investigated morphologically to provide trends in early villous development. Study of the specimens included phase contrast microscopic examination and histomorphometric investigation in all cases, and scanning electron microscopy in ten cases. Histomorphometric measurements included the villous barrier thickness i.e. the distance between the intervillous space and the villous capillary lumen, the trophoblastic layer thickness and the volume fraction of each villous constituents, i.e. trophoblast, stroma and capillaries. Significant negative correlations were observed between gestational age and the villous barrier and trophoblastic thickness. The data obtained were separated into two groups, embryonic (5-10 weeks) and fetal (11-15 weeks) groups, and compared. The mean barrier thickness, the mean trophoblastic thickness, the mean volume fraction for trophoblast and the sprouting-villous index were significantly greater during the embryonic period compared with the fetal period. The mean volume fraction for the stroma and for the fetal capillaries, and the mean number of capillary profiles per villous profile were significantly smaller during the embryonic period than during the fetal period. The comparison of placental histomorphometric data obtained in cases of normal early pregnancies with those observed in cases of abnormal early pregnancies could help us to elucidate the origin of anatomical and biological changes in these cases.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Histological study of the materno-embryonic interface in spontaneous abortion.

In a histological study of 184 specimens of complete spontaneous abortion, the following points were delineated. In cases of anomaly or death of the conceptus, there was a reduced trophoblastic penetration into the decidua and into the spiral arteries where physiological changes were limited or absent. Trophoblastic proliferation within the columns and the outer shell was limited with frequent disruption or even disappearance of the shell. These findings seem to be related to the untimely initiation of blood flow in the intervillous space which in turn is associated with arrest of pregnancy and eventual expulsion.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗