Oxidative stress early in pregnancy and pregnancy outcome

The objectives of this study were to determine whether oxidative stress early in pregnancy influenced pregnancy outcome. A combination of assays were used for exogenous and endogenous anti-oxidants together with two well accepted biomarkers for oxidative stress, the urinary excretion of 8-iso-PGF_2α (a biomarker marker for lipid oxidation, n=508) and 8-oxo-7,8 dihydro-2 deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG, a biomarker for DNA oxidation, n=487). The two biomarkers tracked different pregnancy outcomes. Isoprostanes were associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia and a decreased proportion of female births. In contrast, 8-OHdG tracked lower infant birthweight and shortened gestation duration. Birth defects were associated with low levels of 8-OHdG.     

Oxidative stress early in pregnancy and pregnancy outcome

The objectives of this study were to determine whether oxidative stress early in pregnancy influenced pregnancy outcome. A combination of assays were used for exogenous and endogenous anti-oxidants together with two well accepted biomarkers for oxidative stress, the urinary excretion of 8-iso-PGF(2alpha) (a biomarker marker for lipid oxidation, n=508) and 8-oxo-7,8 dihydro-2 deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG, a biomarker for DNA oxidation, n=487). The two biomarkers tracked different pregnancy outcomes. Isoprostanes were associated with an increased risk of pre-eclampsia and a decreased proportion of female births. In contrast, 8-OHdG tracked lower infant birthweight and shortened gestation duration. Birth defects were associated with low levels of 8-OHdG.     

Loss in higher multiple pregnancy and multifetal pregnancy reduction.

From early pregnancy into childhood, higher multiples have much higher rates of mortality, whether from spontaneous abortion, the 'vanishing twin' syndrome, fetal or infant death. Many parents must cope with the death of one baby whilst the siblings remain critically ill or later become disabled and yet there grief is often underestimated. Little is known about the long term feelings of parents who choose to have a multifetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR). Most say they made the right decision but also that there was insufficient respect for their loss. They are often anxious about what, if anything, to tell the survivors and how they might react. Long term follow-up studies of the children as well as the parents are needed. Meanwhile parents who chose to have a MFPR must be given more information and ongoing support.     

Early pregnancy azathioprine use and pregnancy outcomes

BACKGROUND: Azathioprine (AZA) is used during pregnancy by women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), other autoimmune disorders, malignancy, and organ transplantation. Previous studies have demonstrated potential risks. METHODS: The Swedish Medical Birth Register was used to identify 476 women who reported the use of AZA in early pregnancy. The effect of AZA exposure on pregnancy outcomes was studied after adjustment for maternal characteristics that could act as confounders. RESULTS: The most common indication for AZA use was IBD. The rate of congenital malformations was 6.2% in the AZA group and 4.7% among all infants born (adjusted OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 0.98–2.04). An association between early pregnancy AZA exposure and ventricular/atrial septal defects was found (adjusted OR: 3.18, 95% CI: 1.45–6.04). Exposed infants were also more likely to be preterm, to weigh <2500 gm, and to be small for gestational age compared to all infants born. This effect remained for preterm birth and low birth weight when infants of women with IBD but without AZA exposure were used as a comparison group. A trend toward an increased risk of congenital malformations was found among infants of women with IBD using AZA compared to women with IBD not using AZA (adjusted OR: 1.42, 95% CI: 0.93–2.18). CONCLUSIONS: Infants exposed to AZA in early pregnancy may be at a moderately increased risk of congenital malformations, specifically ventricular/atrial septal defects. There is also an increased risk of growth restriction and preterm delivery. These associations may be confounded by the severity of maternal illness. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

妊娠期生殖道支原体、衣原体感染与妊娠结局的关系分析

目的 探讨围产期孕妇支原体、衣原体感染与不良妊娠结局的相关性.方法 采用病例对照研究方法,比较分析95例孕期和88例正常产妇的不良妊娠结局.结果 UU、CT感染孕妇的不良妊娠结局发生率高于正常孕妇(P＜0.05).结论 加强产前保健,重视生殖道感染对于改善围产结局具有重要意义.     

妊娠中晚期孕妇阴道菌群紊乱的改变对不良妊娠结局的影响

目的探讨妊娠中晚期孕妇阴道菌群紊乱的改变对不良妊娠结局的影响。方法选取产科门诊就诊的妊娠28-34周的患者150例。根据检查结果将其分为菌群正常组48例和菌群失常组102例。观察并对比两组患者的不良妊娠结局。结果 102例菌群失常患者中滴虫6例,假丝酵母菌67例,衣原体17例,淋菌2例,细菌性阴道病10例。假丝酵母菌感染率明显高于其他致病菌(P0.05)。菌群失常组患者早产、胎膜早破、剖宫产、产褥感染发生率分别为15.69%、22.55%、35.29%和18.63%,均明显高于菌群正常组的4.17%、8.33%、18.75%和6.25%(P0.05)。菌群失常组患者新生儿黄疽、新生儿感染和低出生体重儿发生率分别为24.51%、21.57%、16.67%,均明显高于菌群正常组的10.42%、8.33%、4.17%(P0.05),在胎儿窘迫的发生率方面两组比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。结论妊娠中晚期阴道菌群紊乱中以假丝酵母菌感染发生率最多,与不良妊娠结局密切相关,增加了早产、胎膜早破、剖宫产、产褥感染、新生儿黄疸、新生儿感染和低出生体重儿等与不良妊娠结局的发生率。     

Poliomyelitis in pregnancy

Acute poliomyelitis occurs in all trimesters of pregnancy. At one time there were six women in the poliomyelitis ward at Children's Hospital, five of whom were either pregnant or recently delivered. Poliomyelitis is an important entity in the differential diagnosis of diseases complicating pregnancy. Once diagnosed, treatment is directed primarily toward the symptoms of poliomyelitis, secondarily toward pregnancy. Effort should be made to maintain adequately high oxygen tension in the maternal blood stream to protect the fetus. The prognosis of the disease when it occurs during pregnancy may be less predictable, but it is generally good for both mother and infant. Although the incidence of abortion is relatively high, if the pregnancy goes to term parturition is expected to be normal. The number of cases reported is not sufficient to establish the significance of the suspected selective occurrence of poliomyelitis in pregnancy.     

Leptin in pregnancy

Leptin is a polypeptide hormone that aids in the regulation of body weight and energy homeostasis and is linked to a variety of reproductive processes in both animals and humans. Thus, leptin may help regulate ovarian development and steroidogenesis and serve as either a primary signal initiating puberty or as a permissive regulator of sexual maturation. Perhaps significantly, peripheral leptin concentrations, adjusted for adiposity, are dramatically higher in females than in males throughout life. During primate pregnancy, maternal levels that arise from adipose stores and perhaps the placenta increase with advancing gestational age. Proposed physiological roles for leptin in pregnancy include the regulation of conceptus growth and development, fetal/placental angiogenesis, embryonic hematopoiesis, and hormone biosynthesis within the maternal-fetoplacental unit. The specific localization of both leptin and its receptor in the syncytiotrophoblast implies autocrine and/or paracrine relationships in this endocrinologically active tissue. Interactions of leptin with mechanisms regulating pre-eclampsia and maternal diabetes have also been suggested. Collectively, therefore, reports suggest that a better understanding of the regulation of leptin and its role(s) throughout gestation may eventually impact those causes of human perinatal morbidity and mortality that are exacerbated by intrauterine growth retardation, macrosomia, placental insufficiency, or prematurity.     

Interferon in pregnancy

The cells of the immune system exchange information by a complex network of molecules referred to as lymphokines: these include the interferons. The physiology of the interferons, both in terms of control and function, is poorly understood. However, there is ample evidence that production of alpha-interferon is characteristic of the fetoplacental unit in both the human and other species. Indeed, the major trophoblast protein in early pregnancy in the sheep is alpha-interferon and in this species the molecule appears to have an important anti-luteolytic effect. The function of the interferons in human pregnancy is not known but, by analogy with information from other experimental systems, it might reflect aspects of the immune relationship between the mother and the fetus.