Incorporation and release of the radioactivity in the liver glycogen of 18.5- and 19.5-day-old rat foetuses were studied after intravenous injection of E11-14C]glycerol. Incorporation occurred during 1 h after injection of the radioactive tracer to the foetus; then, the incorporated radioactivity decreased. Glycogen content in the liver, and glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase were not...

Coexistence of a viable foetus with a complete hydatidiform mole is a rare entity. Traditionally, termination of pregnancy was recommended because of severe maternal and foetal complications. Here we report a case of a 30 year old G2A1 at 27 weeks with a twin pregnancy with a complete hydatidiform mole and coexisting normal foetus who took home a healthy baby without any persistent trophoblasti...

We report prenatal diagnosis of phenylketonuria by linkage analysis of the markers linked to the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene. Three markers comprising STR (TCTAT)n in intron 3, VNTR (30bp long cassette) in the 3' UTR and Xmn1 RFLP were ascertained in the affected child, the parents and the chorionic villi sample. The foetus was confirmed to be heterozygous for the mutant allele. The di...

There is increasing evidence that the sex of the foetus may alter the maternal metabolic milieu during pregnancy. Following a randomized controlled trial of exercise in overweight and obese pregnant women, we assessed whether the sex of the foetus was associated with changes in maternal metabolism. Data were analysed on 74 randomized participants who completed the trial, including 38 mothers ca...

Pregnancy creates significant alterations in energy metabolism which itself is a physiological adaptation to provide continuous flow of energy metabolites to the foetus. The state of insulin resistance created by hormonal changes in pregnancy enables free flow of glucose to the foetus and allows its absorption through facilitated diffusion. As glucose is preferentially available for the foetus,...