Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) disproportionately affects women in their reproductive age years. Pregnancy in this systemic autoimmune disease has long been associated with poor obstetric outcomes. However, the frequency of pregnancy loss in lupus has dropped to a level commensurate with that of the general US population. The outcomes of ...

Introduction: Females with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have higher prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which can lead to the development of warts. Herein we report the first case of giant disseminated condylomatosis (GDC) in a SLE female on mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). Case report: The patient, a 33-year-old, Black female, ...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common autoimmune disease affecting women of reproductive age and is associated with poor maternal and fetal outcomes. CD4(+)CD25(+) Treg cells are a subset of T lymphocytes with potent immunosuppressive activity that play crucial roles in controlling immunological self tolerance. Evidence suggests that they ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare rates and predictors of pregnancy complications in mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with and without previous nephritis (PN). METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 107 pregnancies in 83 women with SLE diagnosed prepregnancy. RESULTS: Mothers with PN had higher rates of preterm delivery (< 37/40, 30% vs 11%, ...

To construct reference ranges of uterine artery Doppler parameters against gestation in twin pregnancies and to present charts of the pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) for clinical use. This was an observational study of the uterine circulation in 557 women with dichorionic twin pregnancies at 17-38 weeks' gestation. ...

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact on the neonate of maternal antiretroviral therapy with atazanavir (ATV). STUDY DESIGN: An observational study of 22 HIV-infected women receiving, for clinical indications, antiretroviral therapy with ATV 300mg and ritonavir 100mg during pregnancy and their 23 HIV infants (including a twin pair). RESULTS: Mothers had ...

During normal pregnancy there is an increase in the maternal blood volume leading to portal hypertension with some changes in liver functions. However, in an apparently healthy woman without known liver cirrhosis or other advanced liver disease, severe oesophageal varices with along with repeated variceal bleeding during pregnancy is rare. ...

Abstract. One hundred fifty-two Trypanosoma cruzi seropositive women were submitted to a single hemoculture; 101 were pregnant, and 51 were not pregnant. Seven tubes from each individual were harvested with liver infusion tryptose (LIT) medium and observed monthly until the fifth month. Hemocultures were positive in 50% (76 of 152) ...

OBJECTIVE: To assess maternal death and severe maternal morbidity from acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) in the Netherlands. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study of all cases of maternal mortality in the Netherlands between 1983 and 2006 and all cases of severe maternal morbidity in the Netherlands between 2004 and ...

Background: Several liver diseases can be observed during pregnancy. Some are proper to pregnancy and others are not. Aim: To study and to analyze the different liver diseases encountered during pregnancy and describe their management. Methods: Retrospective study of 97 patients having a liver disease during their pregnancy, the cases ...

Liver disorders occurring during pregnancy may be specifically pregnancy-related, or may be due to an intercurrent or chronic liver disease, which may present in anyone, pregnant or not. This review focuses on the liver diseases unique to pregnancy. Hyperemesis gravidarum, which occurs during early pregnancy, may be associated with liver ...

Doppler evaluation of the placenta and fetal cardiovascular system is one of the primary surveillance tools in prenatal medicine. By assessing uterine and umbilical arteries, placental development can be documented. This is useful for the prediction of hypertensive maternal disorders and placental dysfunction and fetal growth failure. The umbilical artery ...

Urgent delivery of the fetus is often considered as the treatment of choice for mothers in their second or third trimester with hepatitis unique to pregnancy (HUP). To determine whether standard liver function tests (serum bilirubin and international normalized ratio levels) help to identify mothers and their newborns who might ...

Liver diseases related to pregnancy may be associated with preeclampsia (liver dysfunction related to preeclampsia; hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets with or without preeclampsia [HELLP syndrome]; and acute fatty liver of pregnancy) or may not involve preeclampsia (hyperemesis gravidarum and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy). Liver diseases associated with ...

Citation Torricelli M, Bellisai F, Novembri R, Galeazzi LR, Iuliano A, Voltolini C, Spreafico A, Galeazzi M, Petraglia F. High levels of maternal serum IL-17 and activin A in pregnant women affected by systemic lupus erythematosus. Am J Reprod Immunol 2011; 66: 84-89 Problem  To evaluate changes of serum IL-17, ...

Aim:  Using a longitudinal study design, we investigated changes in maternal core temperature and ambient temperatures before and after a localized cooling procedure to the right hand. Methods:  Fifteen pregnant women participated. The experiments were sequentially performed for 21 month periods on each subject: from the 8th week of gestation to ...

We investigated the accuracy of fetal umbilical artery Doppler to predict the risk of compromise of fetal/neonatal wellbeing in a high-risk population. Searches in MEDLINE, Embase, The Cochrane Library and Medion (from inception to March 2009) were carried out, together with hand searching of relevant journals, reference list checking of ...

To compare liver volume between trisomy 21 and euploid fetuses at 11 to 13 weeks' gestation. Fetal liver volume was measured by 3D ultrasound in fetuses at low risk of aneuploidies (n = 200) and another group at high risk, including 148 euploid and 37 with trisomy 21. The association ...

Doppler evaluation of the fetal ductus venosus has increased our depth of understanding of many fetal conditions. The ductus venosus has an important role in the regulation of nutrient partitioning in the fetus. Alterations in cardiac afterload, contractility compliance, intravascular volume status, and heart rate may significantly impact on the ...

Ultrasound's record of safety seems to be perfect, with no undisputed reports of adverse effects in humans. However, all epidemiologic studies published so far are based on information obtained with pre-1992 machines, when allowed maximal in-situ intensity for fetal use was increased. Many fetuses are examined very early in pregnancy, ...

Antepartum fetal surveillance with Doppler ultrasound of umbilical artery has shown significant diagnostic efficacy in identifying fetal compromise in pregnancies complicated with fetal growth restriction and preeclampsia. Moreover, randomized clinical trials and their meta-analyses have shown its effectiveness in decreasing perinatal mortality (level I evidence). This is the only antepartum ...

Uterine artery Doppler velocimetry has revolutionized the investigation of the developing placental vasculature. Abnormal placental vascular development is the basis of common obstetric disorders such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. Uterine artery Doppler velocimetry by itself or in combination with other biochemical markers seems to be an effective first-trimester ...

Pregnancy is associated with substantial changes in the maternal circulatory physiology. Our aim was to investigate maternal cerebral blood flow (CBF) during normal pregnancies. We prospectively measured maternal CBF in 210 low-risk pregnant women at different gestational ages, and in 15 nonpregnant women. CBF was assessed by measuring blood flow ...

First-trimester Doppler studies have reported that the lower uterine artery (UtA) resistance index (RI) is better for the prediction of pre-eclampsia (PE) than is either the mean or higher indices. The aim of this study was to determine if this relationship is true in the second trimester. This was a ...

To investigate the maternal serum concentration of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in the first trimester of pregnancies that subsequently develop preeclampsia (PE) and to examine the possible association with uterine artery pulsatility index (PI). The maternal serum concentration of IGF-I and uterine artery PI at 11-13 weeks were measured in ...

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease associated with fibrosis and inflammation of the bile ducts. Its complications include symptoms from pruritis and fatigue to dominant strictures, cholangiocarcinoma and liver failure necessitating liver transplant. Due to its predominance in young males, little is reported regarding PSC and ...

To evaluate whether the persistence of abnormal findings in the third trimester following increased uterine artery (UtA) resistance in the second trimester is related to adverse pregnancy outcome. Low-risk nulliparous women with increased UtA mean pulsatility index (PI) at 20-22 weeks underwent repeat Doppler interrogation at 26-28 weeks and were ...

Pregnancy represents a major challenge in the management of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, with substantial risks to both mother and baby. Over the past 40 years there have been major improvements in outcomes. This partly relates to the discovery of the antiphospholipid syndrome, which has transformed management of lupus ...

Preeclampsia is a common and potentially lethal pregnancy complication for women and offspring. Women who develop preeclampsia also run a long-term augmented risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death, and two theories are discussed. Women developing preeclampsia and persons developing cardiovascular disease may have common risk factors, which are unmasked ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the time interval between maternal electrocardiogram (ECG) and venous Doppler waves at different stages of uncomplicated pregnancy (UP) and in preeclampsia (PE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional pilot study in 40 uncomplicated singleton pregnancies, categorized in four groups of ten according to gestational age: 10 - 14 weeks ...

To investigate umbilical vein blood flow (UVBF) during the first trimester in pregnancies with low serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) levels and to relate umbilical vein (UV) diameter, time-averaged maximum velocity (TAMXV) and UVBF values to the subsequent development of fetal intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). UVBF assessment was performed at ...

This study is done for the pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) of the "umbilical artery" during pregnancy. We determine the normal range (mean+/-2SD) for various indices in our population and statistical significance of these values in pregnancy induced hypertension and small for gestational age (SGA) babies. One hundred ...

The position of the placental cord insertion, its shape and cord coiling are thought to be associated with perinatal outcome. This study derives indices describing the relationship of cord insertion to the placental centre, the shape of the placenta and cord coiling in placentas from unselected term pregnancies. Further, we ...

The aims of the present study were to: (1) evaluate blood flow in the uterine (UA) and umbilical arteries (Uma) in the pregnant queen, by measuring the resistive index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI); (2) to note the presence or absence of the early diastolic notch and diastolic flow in ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of Doppler ultrasound as a predictor for adverse pregnancy outcomes in Korean women with anemia during the third trimester of pregnancy. A retrospective study comparing women with (n=377) and without (n=3183) anemia was performed. Maternal anemia was defined as hemoglobin ...

The ductus arteriosus (DA) is a small vessel with major functional importance for the integrity of the fetal circulation. Technical advances in prenatal diagnostics facilitate appropriate echocardiographic estimation of the ductal flow and its abnormalities. Despite the emerging knowledge of its embryological background and developmental processes during advancing gestation we ...

Objective. Soluble endoglin (sEng) is a novel antiangiogenic protein and elevated sEng concentrations in maternal circulation are closely related to preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. As the perfusion of the uterine arteries as well as the dynamics of angiogenic factors between first and second trimester have prognostic value regarding pregnancy outcome, ...

Unexplained infertility (UI) is a difficult diagnosis in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. This report describes TENS treatment as an adjunct therapy for a 30-year-old woman with long-standing UI who was scheduled to undergo ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer. She had three unsuccessful intrauterine ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the screening accuracy of pregnancy hypertensive disorders by maternal serum biomarkers and uterine artery Doppler in the first trimester. STUDY DESIGN: Prospectively enrolled nulliparous women had uterine artery Doppler and serum measured at 11-13 weeks. Maternal characteristics, uterine artery Doppler, and serum placental biomarkers (pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A, ...

Selective intrauterine growth restriction (sIUGR) occurs in 10 to 15% of monochorionic (MC) twins, and it is associated with a substantial increase in perinatal mortality and morbidity. Clinical evolution is largely influenced by the existence of intertwin placental anastomoses: pregnancies with similar degrees of fetal weight discordance are associated with ...

The objective of the present study was to evaluate fetal biometry, Doppler values, and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women with antiphospholipid syndrome treated with acetylsalicylic acid and heparin. Twenty-five pregnant women with antiphospholipid syndrome using 100 mg/day acetylsalicylic acid and 5,000 IU heparin every 12 h were evaluated in this prospective observational study. ...

To evaluate the outcome of pregnancies with second trimester unilaterally increased uterine artery resistance. Between January 2007 and December 2009 all low-risk patients with unilateral increase of uterine artery pulsatility index (PI) but normal mean pulsatility at 20-22 weeks of gestation were included in the study group. Among these, cases ...

To evaluate whether 3D placental and myometrial power Doppler blood perfusion in the first trimester can be used to detect risk pregnancies. 3D power Doppler vascularization index (VI) and flow index (FI) of the entire placenta and the neighbouring myometrium were separately measured in the first trimester in all women ...

Little is known of the effect of pregnancy on canine cardiovascular function. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of pregnancy on canine echocardiographic variables. Serial echocardiographic examinations of 7 healthy, sexually intact female canine mongrels dogs that weighed between 9.7 and 13.4 kg were performed. The subjects were ...

This ex vivo study focuses on the mechanisms of endothelium-dependent dilatation in the uterine circulation of normal pregnancy (n = 12) and in women with preeclampsia (n = 12). Arteries (internal diameter, ∼250 μm) isolated by myometrial biopsy from women undergoing planned cesarean delivery or delivery as a result of ...

To determine if fetal-placental hypoxia is a primary outcome of defective spiral artery remodeling. Pregnancies in Rag2(-/-)Il2rg(-/-) double knock-out mice, which fail to undergo normal physiological spiral arterial remodeling, were compared to syngeneic BALB/c control pregnancies. Mice at gestation day (gd)6, 8, 10, 12 and 18 were infused with Hypoxyprobe-1 ...

To test the hypothesis that Doppler characteristics of maternal renal interlobar veins (RIV) are different between pregnancies affected by early-onset pre-eclampsia (EP) and those affected by late-onset pre-eclampsia (LP). A gestational age of 34 weeks was considered to differentiate EP from LP. All women had a renal duplex scan according ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the blood flow from the umbilical artery (UA) in healthy pregnant goats. Doppler sonography examinations were performed every two weeks in Saanen goats with a singleton (n = 5) or multiple (n = 4) pregnancy from 40 to 145 days of gestation. ...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the ability of maternal serum markers and uterine artery Doppler in predicting preeclampsia. METHODS: In this nested case-control study, maternal serum concentrations of cystatin C, beta2-microglobulin, serum amyloid A, C-reactive protein (CRP), and neopterin were measured, and resistance index of uterine artery blood flow was assessed in ...

Antihypertensive drugs lower blood pressure by direct vascular effects or central vasodilatory mechanisms. Their effect on uterine artery Doppler resistance indices in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy is uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of antihypertensive therapy with alpha-methyldopa on maternal uterine artery Doppler pulsatility index (PI) and resistance ...