As anti-HBc screening has been proposed for blood donor testing, we investigated its effectiveness during pregnancy. Among 4,023 successive pregnant women screened for anti-HBc, 539 (13.4%) were positive and further tested for HBsAg and anti-HBs. HBsAg was found in 73 (1.81%) and anti-HBc only was positive in 66 (1.64%). Among the 73 women positive for HBsAg, HBV DNA was found in the serum of seven, the cord blood of two, the placenta of three. Of the 58 infants given HBV immunoglobulins and vaccine, only four had transient HBsAg. None of the 66 women positive for anti-HBc only had anti-HBc IgM, HBeAg, or HBV DNA in serum, cord blood or placenta but five women became HBsAg positive before, at, or after delivery. Among the infants born of these 66 mothers, three had high ALT, two had HBsAg and one HBV DNA without HBsAg. Screening for anti-HBc may be cost effective, at least in low HBV prevalence areas, since there is evidence for infectivity of pregnant women positive for anti-HBc only.

Carrier State↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A pyramidal approach for automatic segmentation of multiple sclerosis lesions in brain MRI.

Quantitative assessment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) lesion load of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most objective approach for a better understanding of the history of the pathology, either natural or modified by therapies. To achieve an accurate and reproducible quantification of MS lesions in conventional brain MRI, an automatic segmentation algorithm based on a multiresolution approach using pyramidal data structures is proposed. The systematic pyramidal decomposition in the frequency domain provides a robust and flexible low level tool for MR image analysis. Context-dependent rules regarding MRI findings in MS are used as high level considerations for automatic lesion detection.

Algorithms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Familial extrahepatic biliary atresia.

Only a small number of cases with familial extrahepatic biliary atresia, suggesting a recessive autosomal inheritance, have been reported. However, the cases reported in twins are consistent with an acquired disease. Here the case of two brothers with familial atresia of the extrahepatic biliary system is studied. Diagnosis was confirmed by laparotomy and histologic study of biliary fibrous remnants. In the present cases parental consanguinity might suggest a recessive autosomal inheritance. However, clustering of cases in a family might also suggest a common exposure to responsible factors not so far identified.

Biliary Atresia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Proceedings: An unrecognized biological factor in sickle-cell anemia: hypergammaglobulinemia apropos of 2 cases].

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Adolescent↗