Obstetric outcome of pregestational diabetic pregnancies

This retrospective study examined the obstetric and neonatal outcome in 23 pregestational diabetic pregnancies. The incidence of congenital malformations and mortality in infants of diabetic mothers was increased compared to the control population. Late booking for antenatal care and poor glycaemia control are probably the reasons for this high incidence. There was also a significantly higher preterm delivery and Caesarean section rate in the pregnancies complicated by pregestational diabetes. The neonatal morbidity was also higher than the controls in terms of jaundice, hypoglycaemia, respiratory distress syndrome and admissions to neonatal intensive care unit. Only with preconception counselling and tight glycaemia control in the periconception period and throughout pregnancy can we expect a drop in the complication rates in pregestational diabetic pregnancies.     

Adenyl cyclase abnormality in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: muscle cells in culture

Cultured muscle cells from patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy differed from cells of normal individuals and of patients with other muscle diseases. In Duchenne cells, basal activity of adenyl cyclase of myotubes was higher and was not stimulated significantly by epinephrine or isoproterenol, as it was in fused control cells, and the response to fluoride was less. The genetic defect in this disease may be an abnormality of the sruface membrane of muscle.     

Occult papillary carcinoma of the thyroid with pulmonary metastases

This case report describes an occult papillary adenocarcinoma of the thyroid with pulmonary metastases, discovered at autopsy. Since papillary adenocarcinoma of the thyroid usually invades adjacent structures and cervical lymph nodes in a predictable fashion, the finding of distant hematogenous spread, when the tumor is confined to the thyroid gland, is unusual, as is illustrated by a review of the literature. The patient's history included a poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, which had been resected 15 years prior to death and had been followed by super-voltage radiation. The possible effects of super-voltage radiation on the pathogenesis and behavior of thyroid cancer are discussed.