IntroductionA case of giant meconium pseudocyst secondary to ileum volvulus perforation is presented. Conventional radiographic features of meconium peritonitis with secondary meconium pseudocyst formation are well described. Our case is unusual in comparison to other cases reported in the literature and needs to be reported because the meconium pseudocyst presented without the typical ultrasound features (calcifications, polyhydramnios and ascites) and was initially identified as an abdominal mass.Case presentationWe describe the case of a 29-year-old Caucasian woman in her third trimester of pregnancy, in which an abdominal mass was detected in the fetus. The newborn was diagnosed in the early neonatal period with meconium pseudocyst secondary to ileum volvulus perforation.ConclusionsThe prenatal appearance of a meconium pseudocyst can be complemented by other signs of bowel obstruction (if present) such as polyhydramnios and fetal bowel dilatation. This is an original case report of interest to all clinicians in the perinatology and fetal ultrasound field. We consider that the utility of this case is the recognition that a meconium pseudocyst might appear without the typical ultrasound features and should be considered as a differential diagnosis when an echogenic intra-abdominal cyst is seen.

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to measure aortic intima-media thickness (aIMT) and aortic diameter (AD) in appropriate for gestational age (AGA) fetuses, small for gestational age (SGA) fetuses, and intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) fetuses.MethodsCase-control study performed between June 2011 and June 2012. Forty-nine AGA fetuses, 40 SGA fetuses, and 35 IUGR fetuses underwent concomitant measurement of aIMT and AD at a mean gestational age of 34.4 weeks.ResultsMedian aIMT was higher in fetuses with IUGR (0.504 mm [95%CI: 0.477-0.530 mm]), than in SGA fetuses (0.466 mm [95% CI: 0.447–0.485 mm]), and AGA fetuses (0.471 mm [95% CI: 0.454-0.488 mm]) (p = 0.023). Mean AD was significantly lower in fetuses with IUGR (4.451 mm [95% CI: 4.258–4.655 mm]), than in AGA fetuses (4.74 mm [95% CI: 4.63-4.843 mm]) (p = 0.028).ConclusionsGrowth restricted fetuses have a thicker aortic wall than AGA and SGA fetuses, which possibly represents preclinical atherosclerosis and a predisposition to later cardiovascular disease.

This report considers a highly exceptional case of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome due to a gonadotroph adenoma secreting LH in a 31-year-old patient who presented with amenorrhoea and galactorrhoea syndrome and a complex bilateral ovarian mass. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a pituitary adenoma, and laboratory tests corroborated the hyperprolactinaemia without other hormonal pituitary abnormalities. Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome due to a gonadotroph adenoma with normal gonadotrophins is extremely rare. Most of the described cases are caused by FSH adenomas. Due to the originality of the case, it was considered useful for understanding the management of this entity, and it is proposed that LH adenomas should also be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Physiological evidence has indicated that central respiratory chemosensitivity may be ascribed to neurons located at the ventral medullary surface (VMS); however, in recent years, multiple sites have been proposed. Because c-Fos immunoreactivity is presumed to identify primary cells as well as second- and third-order cells that are activated by a particular stimulus, we hypothesized that activation of VMS cells using a known adequate respiratory stimulus, H(+), would induce production of c-Fos in cells that participate in the central pH-sensitive respiratory chemoreflex loop. In this study, stimulation of rostral and caudal VMS respiratory chemosensitive sites in chloralose-urethane-anesthetized rats with acidic (pH 7.2) mock cerebrospinal fluid induced c-Fos protein immunoreactivity in widespread brain sites, such as VMS, ventral pontine surface, retrotrapezoid, medial and lateral parabrachial, lateral reticular nuclei, cranial nerves VII and X nuclei, A(1) and C(1) areas, area postrema, locus coeruleus, and paragigantocellular nuclei. At the hypothalamus, the c-Fos reaction product was seen in the dorsomedial, lateral hypothalamic, supraoptic, and periventricular nuclei. These results suggest that 1) multiple c-Fos-positive brain stem and hypothalamic structures may represent part of a neuronal network responsive to cerebrospinal fluid pH changes at the VMS, and 2) VMS pH-sensitive neurons project to widespread regions in the brain stem and hypothalamus that include respiratory and cardiovascular control sites.