Based on an estimated incidence of cancer during pregnancy of 1 per 1000-1500 pregnancies, annualy 3000-5000 new patients can be expected in Europe. The treatment of cancer in pregnant women is a challenge since both the maternal and the foetal well-being need to be considered. This study was initiated to gain better insights into the problems associated with cancer and chemotherapy during preg...

miRNAs have been found to repress gene expression at posttranscriptional level in cells. Studies have shown that expression of miRNAs is tissue-specific and developmental-stage-specific. The mechanism behind this could be explained by miRNA pathways. In this study, totally 54 miRNAs were analysed in 7 matched human foetal and adult organs (brain, colon, heart, kidney, liver, lung and spleen) us...

AIM One way to assess foetal health of smokers is to ask mothers to count perceived movements, an unreliable method hiding differences in prenatal development. The aim of this pilot study was to assess subtle foetal movements in ultrasound scans and establish whether they differ in foetuses of mothers who smoked and nonsmoking mothers. METHODS This longitudinal pilot study recruited twenty mo...

process. 1. The Foetal Electrocardiogram: The examination of the FECG by the traditional methods of cardiology have proved very disappointing and unrewarding. If, however, the FECG is merely used as a means of recording the beat-to-beat interval of the foetal heart, statistical evaluation of this information can yield a valuable prognostic index. 2. The Foetal Ballistocardiogram: The purpose of...

Iodine is an essential micronutrient incorporated into thyroid hormones. Although iodine deficiency can lead to a broad spectrum of disorders throughout life, it is most critical in the early stages of development, as the foetal brain is extremely dependent on iodine supply. During the last two decades, our understanding of thyroid physiology during gestation has substantially improved. Further...

The endogenous retroviruses are inherited elements transmitted trough the germline of most animal species and their biological role is still controversial. Ovine Pulmonary Carcinoma (OPC) represents a good model for studying the interactions of endogenous retroviruses with their exogenous counterparts. The type D exogenous retrovirus known as Jaagsiekte Sheep Retro-Virus (JSRV) is necessary and...

The surface epithelium has been studied on human adult ovarian biopsies, one foetal ovary and an ovarian biopsy from a woman 12 weeks pregnant. In the adult, the surface of the ovary is covered by a single, patchy layer of epithelium which varies from squamous, through cuboidal to columnar in shape. Cytoplasmic projections extend into the peritoneal cavity from the free surface of the cells and...

AIM Maternal alcohol abuse is poorly recognised and causes developmental problems. This study explored the foetal central nervous systems (CNS), head circumference and psychomotor development of children exposed to drugs or alcohol during pregnancy up to 2.5 years of age. METHODS We recruited 23 pregnant women referred to Kuopio University Hospital, Finland, by their family doctor because of ...

“Foetal programming” refers to nutritional and hormonal variations during pregnancy. A maternal proper diet has a fundamental role in decreasing pregnancy complications and to prevent possible diseases in postnatal life. In our narrative review, we analyze and discuss the role of malnutrition during pregnancy and its effects on preand postnatal development of embryos. Our review proposes a comp...