No abstract

Ninety-eight women with mild hyperprolactinaemia (less than 4N) were followed for a mean duration of 5.5 years. Where pregnancy was desired treatment with bromocriptine (+/- clomiphene) was effective in 87%. Following cessation of bromocriptine therapy almost one-third had a 'spontaneous' resolution of hyperprolactinaemia and resumed cyclical menstrual activity and fertility. Pituitary tumours were identified on coned-view assessment in 9% of patients at the time of presentation and a further 10% during follow-up. Although some of these latter tumours may have been diagnosed earlier had CAT scans been performed routinely in all hyperprolactinaemic patients, such a policy would be hard to justify for those with mild hyperprolactinaemia as the tumours were small, produced no harmful effects, and would almost certainly have responded to bromocriptine should this have been administered. All patients found to have pituitary tumours and given bromocriptine, showed no evidence of tumour progression subsequently, even where pregnancy occurred and the bromocriptine therapy was ceased. In addition, patients without pituitary tumours who were given bromocriptine to achieve pregnancy, were less likely to develop tumours during follow-up even when pregnancy had occurred. Bromocriptine therapy can thus be justified in mildly hyperprolactinaemic patients to reduce troublesome galactorrhoea, achieve pregnancy, improve the chance of 'spontaneous' resolution of the menstrual problem and infertility, control or reduce tumour growth where a pituitary tumour has been identified, and reduce the risk of tumour development in patients with normal radiographs at the time of presentation.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate two genes as candidates for fetal sex determination by PCR from blood samples during the first trimester of pregnancy and then contrast the results with the sonography in the second trimester. Study Design: In the present work we evaluated blood from 70 women between 7 to 12 weeks of gestation. DNA extraction was done using a commercial kit. Two Y-chromosome DNA sequences were selected as targets for PCR reactions. The results obtained were compared with two sonographies during 12 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. The gender of the baby was confirmed after birth. Results and Conclusions: The PCR test designed in this work allowed us to determine with 98.5% accuracy the sex of the fetus among the women in the first weeks of pregnancy. The interference of the sex predicted was found with multifetal pregnancy. This non-invasive technique for fetal sex determination can be applied on a regular basis during the first trimester of gestation as early and precise as a regular sonography. Keywords Prenatal; PCR test; Sex fetal diagnose; Non-invasive Materials and Methods Sample collection and plasma separation Ten ml of peripheral blood from 70 pregnant women between 7 and 12 weeks of gestation was collected in tubes with 0.5 M EDTA. All volunteer participants signed a consent form prior to the extraction of blood and participation in this study. To assess possible interferences J o ur nal o f M e d ic al Dia g n o s ti c Method s