Aims: Human placental lactogen (hPL) acts via the prolactin receptor (PRLR) on maternal β-cells to mediate increases in β-cell mass and function during normal pregnancy. This interaction between hPL and PRLR is essential to maintain normal glucose homeostasis and to address the increased metabolic demands of pregnancy. Given the importance ...

PURPOSE: Partial molar pregnancies are rare conceptions characterized by having 69 rather than 46 chromosomes, the additional chromosome complement usually occurring as a result of fertilization of the ovum by two sperm. Although assisted conception with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) should prevent the development of a partial molar pregnancy, occasional ...

We aimed to determine whether ACE A11860G genotype is associated with small for gestational age babies (SGA) and to determine whether the association is affected by environmental factors and fetal sex. Overall 3234 healthy nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies, their partners and babies, were prospectively recruited in Adelaide, Australia and ...

Abstract Aim: The present study attempts to understand the role of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T (MTHFR C677T) in recurrent pregnancy losses in North Indian women because of hyperhomocysteinemia in light of serum folate and vitamin B12. Methods: One hundred and seven women with three or more consecutive unexplained recurrent pregnancy losses ...

A genome-wide association study was undertaken to identify maternal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and copy-number variants (CNVs) associated with pre-eclampsia. Case-control analysis was performed on 1070 Afro-Caribbean (n = 21 cases and 1049 controls) and 723 Hispanic (n = 62 cases and 661 controls) mothers and 1257 mothers of European ...

Objective:Leptin signaling is important in the establishment of pregnancy. We sought to determine if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the leptin and leptin receptor genes are associated with idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL).Study Design:We conducted a case-control study with cases defined as women with idiopathic RPL and controls as parous ...

We present prenatal diagnosis of a de novo distal deletion involving 5p(5p15.1→pter) using uncultured amniocytes in a pregnancy with cerebellar hypoplasia, hypospadias and facial dysmorphisms in the fetus. We discuss the genotype-phenotype correlation and the consequence of haploinsufficiency of CTNND2, SEMA5A, TERT, SRD5A1 and TPPP. We speculate that haploinsufficiency of ...

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether serotonin-related gene polymorphisms influence clinical outcomes of IVF treatment in recipients using donated oocytes. DESIGN: Nested case-control study. SETTING: University-affiliated infertility clinic. PATIENT(S): Two hundred forty-five women undergoing IVF treatment with donated oocytes. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Genotype and haplotype analysis of the serotonin transporter-linked ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether N680S FSHR polymorphism has a predictive value for the ovarian response to stimulation with gonadotropins and cycle outcome in our egg donor program. METHODS: The oocyte donor candidates were selected according to the Instituto Bernabeu egg donation program requirements and ...

C+3953T IL-1 B single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping was carried out in 140 unrelated early pregnancy loss (EPL) patients and in 198 fertile healthy control women and in chorionic villous samples by PCR-RFLP. In Indian population, this is the first report on association of IL-1 B SNP C+3953T polymorphism and EPL.

Transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-beta-1) plays a significant role in pregnancy outcome. We investigated the association of TGFB1 exon 1 (rs1800471, rs1800470) and promoter region (rs1800469, rs1800468) polymorphisms with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) in 675 Tunisian women: 304 women with a history of three consecutive pregnancy losses of unknown etiology ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between one-carbon metabolism and recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). One-carbon metabolism is important for maintaining pregnancy, and the enzymes codified by these genes are relevant to this metabolic pathway. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: An urban university-based hospital in South Korea. PATIENT(S): A cohort of 353 RPL ...

PURPOSE: This study aimed to analyze the associations between childhood acute leukemia (AL) and maternal caffeinated beverage consumption during pregnancy, and to explore interactions between caffeinated and alcoholic beverage consumption and polymorphisms of enzymes involved in caffeine and ethanol metabolisms. METHODS: The data were generated by the French ESCALE study, ...

This study aims to give an overview of the number of prenatal tests for Huntington's disease (HD), test results, and pregnancy outcomes in the Netherlands between 1998 and 2008 and to compare them with available data from the period 1987-1997. A total of 126 couples underwent prenatal diagnosis (PND) on ...

The aim of this study was to define the frequency and determinants of pregnancy-induced child-specific sensitization shortly after full-term delivery using sensitive single HLA-antigen beads (SAB) and high resolution HLA-typing of the mothers and their children (n = 301). A positive SAB result was defined by a background normalized ratio ...

PROBLEM: Numerous lines of evidence implicate Apolipoprotein E (Apo E) in lipid metabolism during pregnancy. Hence, a role for its polymorphism has been envisaged in recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) considering major structural and functional differences between different Apo E genotypes. METHOD OF STUDY: A case control study of 81 women ...

Immunoprophylaxis with IgG anti-D is a standard prevention of hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. Fetal Rhesus D (RhD) blood group genotyping from maternal plasma of RhD-negative pregnant women allows targeted prophylaxis with IgG anti-D in RhD-positive pregnancies only. We set up a reliable protocol for prenatal RHD genotyping. ...

Glutathione S-transferase theta 1 (GSTT1) and glutathione S-transferase Mu 1 (GSTM1) enzymes of the glutathione detoxification pathway protect the embryo from oxidative stress. This study investigated GSTT1 and GSTM1 in relation to their role in conferring genetic susceptibility to pregnancy loss. In a case-control study, 174 early pregnancy loss (EPL) ...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the suitability of non-invasive prenatal RHD genotyping in non-immunized midtrimester pregnant women from a mixed ethnic population, to prevent unnecessary anti-D immunoglobulin prophylaxis and to identify RHD variants METHODS: Rhesus D-negative pregnant women were offered fetal RHD genotyping at 24 gestational weeks. A total ...

PURPOSE: To investigate whether androgen conversion rates after supplementation with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) differ, and whether differences between patients with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) are predictive of pregnancy chances in association with in vitro fertilization (IVF). METHODS: In a prospective cohort study we investigated 213 women with DOR, stratified for age ...

Excessive iron consumption during pregnancy can lead to increased oxidative stress in the maternal body, which may result in adverse pregnancy outcomes. Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) originate from a superfamily of detoxifying enzymes that play a role in reducing xenobiotic compounds and oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to ...

BACKGROUND: Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) is due to maternal alloimmunization against fetal platelet (PLT) antigens. Antenatal management strategies have been developed to avoid complications such as intracranial hemorrhage. The aim of this study was to set up two reliable, noninvasive fetal genotyping assays to determine the fetal risk ...

Progesterone receptor (PGR) and estrogen receptor alpha (ESRα), which mediate the biological effects of the steroid hormones progesterone and estrogen, play a central role in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. The objectives of this study were to detect bovine PGR and ESRα genes polymorphisms and analyze their relationships with ...

Haplotypes formed by polymorphisms (T-786C, rs2070744; a variable number of tandem repeats in intron 4, and Glu298Asp, rs1799983) of the eNOS gene were associated previously with gestational hypertension (GH) and preeclampsia (PE). However, no study has explored the Tag SNPs rs743506 and rs7830 in these disorders. The aim of the ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine association of cytokine gene polymorphism with risk for recurrent miscarriages (RM). DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study on northern Indian RM cases versus control subjects. SETTING: Medical facility. PATIENT(S): A total of 200 women with at least three unexplained spontaneous abortions before 20 weeks of gestation. INTERVENTION(S): Subjects were ...

Hypertension is the most common medical disorder in pregnancy, and a leading cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Vitamin D endocrine system has important influence on immune modulation and endothelial function, which play a role in preeclampsia (PE) and gestational hypertension (GH). Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is present ...

PROBLEM: HLA-G expression is related as an immune modulator of fetal-maternal tolerance, and its levels was correlated with pregnancy outcome. In a case-control study, we investigate the association between the genetic variability of the HLA-G gene and serum levels of soluble HLA-G in cases of embryo implantation failure. METHOD OF ...

The non-classical MHC molecule, HLA-G, is thought to contribute to maternal immune tolerance and successful placentation during pregnancy. Genetic polymorphisms in HLA-G are known to influence expression levels as well as the relative expression of individual protein isoforms. As diminished or aberrant HLA-G expression patterns may contribute to the development ...

Maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with low birth weight. Common variation at rs1051730 is robustly associated with smoking quantity and was recently shown to influence smoking cessation during pregnancy, but its influence on birth weight is not clear. We aimed to investigate the association between this variant and birth ...

The purpose of this research was to attempt a preliminary study of noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome in Southwest Chinese gravidas by using the plasma placental RNA allelic ratio. The genotypes of the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the transcribed regions of the gene PLAC4 were detected in population ...

Vitamin B-12 is essential for the development and maintenance of a healthy nervous system. Brain development occurs primarily in utero and early infancy, but the role of maternal vitamin B-12 status during pregnancy on offspring cognitive function is unclear. In this study we assessed the effect of vitamin B-12 status ...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) regulates endothelial cell proliferation, migration and differentiation. VEGF plays a critical role in angiogenesis during placenta formation. We investigated whether VEGF gene polymorphisms are associated with recurrent pregnancy loss. Thirty-eight women with recurrent pregnancy loss and 30 control women with live-born children were recruited from ...

Despite strong pharmacological evidence implicating the norepinephrine transporter in ADHD, genetic studies have yielded largely insignificant results. We tested the association between 30 tag SNPs within the SLC6A2 gene and ADHD, with stratification based on maternal smoking during pregnancy, an environmental factor strongly associated with ADHD. Children (6-12 years old) ...

Intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy has been associated with multiple negative health outcomes including emotional distress during pregnancy. However, little is known about IPV during pregnancy and its association with emotional distress among South African women. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of both emotional ...

Objective. To evaluate the added value of the baseline T/QRS ratio to other known risk factors in predicting adverse outcome and interventions for suspected fetal distress. Design. Prospective cohort study. Setting. Three academic and six non-academic teaching hospitals in the Netherlands. Population. Laboring women with a high-risk cephalic singleton pregnancy ...

Previous studies have suggested possible adverse side effects of maternal use of folic acid containing supplements (FACSs) during pregnancy on wheeze and asthma in early childhood.We investigated the association between maternal use of (FACSs) and childhood respiratory health and atopy in the first 8 years of life.Data on maternal use ...

Please cite this paper as: Helbig A, Kaasen A, Malt U, Haugen G. Psychological distress after recent detection of fetal malformation: short-term effect on second-trimester uteroplacental and fetoplacental circulation. BJOG 2011; DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.2011.03155.x. We examined the short-term effect of severe maternal psychological distress on the placental circulation in second trimester ...

We report a woman presenting with respiratory failure due to a right-sided pleural effusion, lung metastases and lymphangitis carcinomatosis from advanced lung adenocarcinoma in the third trimester of pregnancy, who showed good response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a technique that provides support to selected patients with severe respiratory failure. During the 2009 H1N1 influenza infection outbreak, ECMO was used with a good impact on survival for pregnant women, who are at higher risk of H1N1 influenza infection. However, there is little information ...

The gerbil female prostate is located paraurethrally and has all the histological components of the male prostate, like secretor epithelium and fibromuscular stroma. This gland, like the prostate in males, is targeted by testosterone action, which promotes morphofunctional development. Furthermore, estrogens are required to maintain the male and female prostate ...

To investigate the relationship between air bubble position after blastocyst transfer (BT) and pregnancy rates (PRs). Retrospective cohort study. University-based infertility center. Three hundred fifteen consecutive nondonor BTs by a single provider. Catheters were loaded with 25 μL of culture media, 20 μL of air, 25 μL of media containing ...

To study the association of perinatal outcome and IVF transfer type in a group of infertility patients with standardized treatment and similar prognosis. Retrospective cohort study. University-based infertility center, January 1998 to June 2006. Two hundred eighteen IVF pregnancies after fresh embryo transfer (ET); 122 IVF pregnancies after frozen ET. ...

In this prospective observational study, the onset of a clinical pregnancy after elective single embryo transfer (eSET) was significantly associated with: 1) the woman's age as well as the number of good- and top-quality embryos; and 2) the day of the embryo transfer (day 3>day 2). Good-quality embryos had the ...

To examine whether the oxidative status of an individual embryo before transfer may predict chances of implantation. A prospective laboratory study. An IVF unit in a university-affiliated hospital. One hundred thirty-three women undergoing IVF-ET treatment cycles. Before ET, 10 μL of embryo culture medium was retrieved individually from each embryo ...

To report a clinical pregnancy after rebiopsy and vitrification of blastocysts following allele dropout (ADO) of biopsied day 3 embryos. Case report. Private center. Thirty-year-old woman and her 33-year-old husband who carries the single-gene condition paraganglioma. In vitro fertilization with day 3 embryo biopsy-ET-blastocyst biopsy and vitrification-subsequent frozen ET cycle. ...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSES: A common observation in oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) cycles is poor embryo quality. However, no study was dedicated to assess zygote and early cleavage embryo quality in IVM cycles. The objective of this study is to analyze fertilization outcome, embryo development and the resulting pregnancy and births in ...

To assess the effect of obesity on implantation rate, pregnancy rate and course of pregnancy in young women undergoing IVF in whom only high-quality embryos were transferred, a cohort study included women attending the IVF unit in 2006-2007 with favourable parameters to achieve pregnancy (<38years, fewer than three IVF cycles, ...

To report the occurrence of Candida glabrata chorioamnionitis complicating an in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancy. Case report. University hospital. A 30-year-old woman, primagravida, with an IVF dichorionic-diamniotic pregnancy who presented at 15 weeks with vaginal bleeding. Before embryo transfer in next IVF cycle, vaginal culture from the patient revealed colonization ...

Establishing the proportion of fertilized oocytes and early human embryos that proceed to term may help policy makers in their evaluation of when the life of a new human individual begins and in determining the nature of protection to be accorded to it. The rate of spontaneous abortions, although increasing ...

to determine if embryo banking with PGS is more optimal than proceeding with PGS regardless of embryo number. patients were divided into 2 groups, group 1 were those that banked embryos and proceeded through another round of IVF prior to PGS, and group 2 underwent PGS regardless of embryo number. ...