Fetal infection

Live measles vaccine should not be given to pregnant women. This precaution is based on the pnrely theoretical risk of fetal infection (134). 

Although routine smallpox vaccination of infants was discontinued in the UK in 1971, some 20-28 cases of complications of vaccination continue to be reported yearly to the Committee on Safety of Medicines (64), including both cross-infection and fetal infection (64). 

Toxoplasma gondii Toxoplasmosis Fetal infection more sensitive than fetal IgM, faster than tissue culture B7, G5... 

While prenatal diagnosis is based on the detection of T. gondii in the amniotic fluid, neonatal screening is based on the detection of parasites in the placenta and on the detection of IgM and IgA antibodies in newborns. PCR for the detection of parasite DNA in amniotic fluid has improved the sensitivity of prenatal diagnosis (Bessieres et ah, 2009). The accurate diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis is essential, since if the mother is treated it would reduce the probability of fetal infection by 50% (Desmonts and Couvreur, 1974). 

Fetal Infection, Fetal Hypoxia, and Other Impacts... 

Spiramycin, which concentrates in placental tissue, is used to treat acute acquired toxoplasmosis in pregnancy to prevent transmission to the fetus. If fetal infection is detected, the combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine is administered to the mother (only after the first 12-14 weeks of pregnancy) and to the newborn in the postnatal period. 

Infection of the genitourinary tract, an important target in ruminant animals, also may lead to signs and symptoms of disease in man.39,40 Pyelonephritis and cystitis and, in males, epididymoorchitis, may occur. Both diseases may mimic their tuberculous counterparts, with sterile pyuria on routine bacteriologic culture. With bladder and kidney infection, Brucella organisms can be cultured from the urine. Brucellosis in pregnancy can lead to placental and fetal infection.41 Whether abortion is more common in brucellosis than in other severe bacterial infections, however, is unknown. 

Secondly, nanospheres-bound ampicillin was tested in the treatment of experimental salmonellosis in C57/BL6 mice, a model involving an acute fetal infection (Fattal et al, 1989). All mice treated with a single injection of nanoparticle-bound ampicillin survived whereas all control mice and all those treated with imloaded nanospheres died within 10 days postinfection. With free ampicillin, an effective-curative effect required 3 doses of 32 mg each. Lower doses (3 x 0.8 mg and 3x16 mg) delayed but did not reduce mortality. Thus, the therapeutic index of ampicillin, calculated on the basis of mice mortality, was increased by 120-fold w hen the drug was bound to nanospheres. 

Recently, it has been possible to grow cells of the human immune system in special mice. These mice carry a genetic defect called severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which leaves them with crippled immune systems, much like those in AIDS patients. Because SCID mice lack functional cellular immunity, it is possible to implant them with human cells without tissue rejection taking place. Researchers have recently developed techniques to implant human fetal tissues containing stem cells for the blood into SCID mice. It is then possible to reconstitute these mice with functional human immune system cells, including T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes. They have also found that if these SCID mice are infected by HIV, the virus will establish infection in the human tissue and destroy the T helper lymphocytes, just as it does in humans. Thus, it may be possible to study some of the mechanisms by which HIV attacks the immune system in these mice. In addition, they may be very useful for testing potential antiviral drugs. 

Although we have discussed briefly the implications of biochemical individuality for alcoholism, for gout, and for arthritis, these are merely examples. A host of other diseases need to be attacked with the same point of view and hold the same promise of success. These include multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, myasthenia gravis, atherosclerosis, essential hypertension, ulcers, diabetes, epilepsy, rheumatic heart disease, nephrosis, liver cirrhosis, congenital heart disease (as well as a host of other malformations which probably involve nutritional deficiencies during fetal life) and even infective diseases such as tuberculosis or poliomyelitis. 

Cystitis nrinary tract bacterial infection Dermatitis inflammation of the skin Diverticular disease inflammation of diverticnla Ductus arteriosus an opening in the fetal heart, which... 

There have already been clinical trials of porcine hepatocyte-based bioartificial livers [5, 6]. However, we believe these systems to represent temporary and short-lived approaches. Compelling evidence from recent experiments show that primary porcine liver cells express and release endogenous retroviral particles that are able to infect human cells. However, long term in vivo investigations of patients previously exposed to porcine tissues over a period of 12 year did not show any porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) viremia [7]. Therefore, we consider the further pursuit of porcine bioartificial livers the only solution at present with regard to the cell source. However, as an intermediate term alternative human cell sources are in development [8]. Expansion technologies for human fetal cells may contribute to resolve these limitations in the future. 

Topical formulations of nystatin and of amphotericin B are useful in the management of Candida albicans infections of the skin. Both antibiotics are ineffective against dermatophytes. The use of nystatin is limited to topical treatment of cutaneous and mucosal Candida infections because of its narrow spectrum and its negligible absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. Hypersensitivity reactions are rare. It is not known whether topical nystatin can cause fetal harm when used by a pregnant woman. Amphotericin B has broader antifungal activity but its topical use is restricted to Candida. Topical use of amphotericin B has shown minimal absorption through the skin and is well tolerated. Limited human surveillance data do not indicate any harm to mother or fetus, but relative safety is still unknown. 

Rubella soon after birth is a disease which is usually trivial and of short duration. Its most obvious sign is a mild rash. Rubella virus infection during pregnancy can disrupt fetal growth and cause birth defects. 

GH deficiency can have a genetic basis or can be acquired as a result of damage to the pituitary or hypothalamus by a tumor, infection, surgery, or radiation therapy. In childhood, GH deficiency presents as short stature and adiposity. (Neonates with isolated GH deficiency are of normal size at birth, presumably because fetal GH is not required for normal... 

Warnings Increased susceptibility to infection and lymphoma Adverse effects on fetal development have been observed in pregnant rats and rabbits—mycophenolate mofetil should not be used in pregnant women and contraception should be used during therapy Neutropenia has been observed... 

---