Maternal hypothyroidism impairs fetal growth in the rat, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are unknown. Since the fetus derives its glucose supply from the mother, and maternal thyroidectomy may disturb maternal and placental glucose metabolism, we postulated that maternal and/or placental glucose metabolic compromise may contribute to fetal ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine that circulating HLA-DR molecules are important candidates for the monitoring of maternal immunostimulation and immunosuppression. STUDY DESIGN: Concentrations of soluble HLA-DR molecules were estimated in EDTA plasma samples of 61 nonpregnant women, 123 healthy pregnant women in the second trimester, 66 ...

Aspergillus fumigatus NRRL 2346 is the producer of fumagillin, an antitumor antibiotic that inhibits angiogenesis. This strain is very difficult to grow reproducibly in shake flasks owing to an extreme form of pellet growth and extensive wall growth. The effects of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and carboxypolymethylene (Carbopol) on growth and fumagillin ...

Low birth weight has been associated with an increased incidence of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and type 2 diabetes. Endocrine regulation of fetal growth by growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I is complex. Placental GH is detectable in maternal serum from the 8th to the 12th gestational week, ...

Monitoring of the intrauterine growth retarded fetus in order to improve fetal outcome and define precisely the timing of delivery, when necessary, is based on the study of changes in vital functions observable in cases of hypoxemia. It is easy to believe that ultrasound equipment with Doppler facilities is present ...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a significant health issue that not only affects infant mortality and morbidity, but may also predispose individuals to coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and stroke as adults. The majority of IUGR pregnancies in humans are characterized by asymmetric fetal growth, resulting from inadequate nutrient transfer ...

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that oestrogens may improve fetal growth due to an increase in nutritional supply to the fetus from greater uterine blood flow. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to assess the effects of hormone administration for suspected impaired fetal growth and perinatal outcome. SEARCH STRATEGY: ...

Background - It has long been known that babies born small are at increased risk of dying before or immediately after birth. They are also at high risk of infection, lung disease and poor growth, and of adverse developmental outcomes. We now know that these small babies are also at ...

BACKGROUND: One way of attempting to improve fetal growth has been nutrient supplementation for the mother when fetal growth is impaired. Different nutrients such as carbohydrates and amino acids have been suggested as treatments for impaired fetal growth. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to assess the effects of ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate placental growth hormone levels in maternal circulation throughout pregnancy in normal and growth hormone-deficient women with the use of a specific assay and to determine the clearance of placental growth hormone from maternal circulation after birth. STUDY DESIGN: Seventeen healthy pregnant ...

BACKGROUND: Fetal hypoxaemia is often a feature of fetal growth impairment. It has been suggested that perinatal outcome after suspected impaired fetal growth might be improved by giving mothers continuous oxygen until delivery. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to assess the effects of maternal oxygen therapy in suspected impaired fetal growth ...

Responses of concentrations of usnic (UA) and perlatolic (PA) acids and the relative growth rate (RGR) of a mat-forming lichen, Cladina stellaris, to enhanced N and P input were studied in a fertilisation experiment. It was predicted on the basis of carbon-nutrient balance (CNB) hypothesis that the concentrations of these ...

This study used between-breed embryo transfer in the horse to investigate the effects of maternal size and uterine capacity on fetal growth and postnatal cardiovascular and neuroendocrine functions. Equine embryos were transferred to establish eight Thoroughbred-in-Thoroughbred (TinT), seven Pony-in-Pony (PinP), five Thoroughbred-in-Pony (TinP) and eight Pony-in-Thoroughbred (PinT), pregnancies. Maternal and ...

OBJECTIVES: To study the influence of maternal hematocrit (Ht) and hemoglobin (Hb) levels on placental size and growth in the first and mid-second trimesters of pregnancy. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a prospective study performed at the fetal medicine unit of a university hospital. One hundred and eighty-one women with a singleton ...

Inadequate growth in utero is associated not only with adverse fetal, perinatal, and neonatal outcomes, but also with an altered propensity for disease later in life. Conversely, fetal overgrowth is also associated with increased medical risks for both mother and fetus. The interaction between the fetal genome and the intrauterine ...

The predominant influences on fetal growth are maternal and placental factors. Post-natal growth is regulated by a complex interaction between genetic, environmental and hormonal influences. The role of the growth hormone insulin-like growth factor (GH-IGF) system is explored, including the emerging role of IGF-2 in fetal growth. Increasing understanding of ...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate whether transforming growth factor-beta1 in fetal serum obtained by umbilical cord sampling at delivery is correlated with fetal growth. We also estimated whether transforming growth factor-beta1 is correlated with insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1, which have been shown to correlate with fetal growth. ...

During pregnancy there is an increased demand for energy and protein to enable the fetus and placenta to grow. Current recommendations suggest an allowance for pregnancy of 6-10 g protein per day, however there is little consistent evidence that this is needed. Furthermore, there does not appear to be a ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of fetal genotype on maternal and fetal outcomes in families with mitochondrial trifunctional protein mutations in the United States. Trifunctional protein has 3 enzymatic activities that include long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, which catalyzes long-chain fatty acid beta-oxidation. We analyzed pregnancy history ...

Many epidemiological studies have now shown a strongly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome in adults who as neonates showed signs of poor early (fetal and early postnatal) growth. The thrifty phenotype hypothesis was proposed to provide a conceptual and experimentally testable basis of these ...

Form changes within the fetal pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) craniofacial complex was documented using finite element scaling analysis (FESA) and three-dimensional (3D) coordinate data for 35 craniofacial landmarks. Coordinate data were digitized from 3D reconstructions of computed tomography (CT) images and 2D axial slices. Twenty-two fetal pigtailed macaques ranging in ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine endogenous heme oxygenase (HO) expression on the surface of placental trophoblasts of pregnant women who had a fetus with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), so as to explore the pathogenesis of IUGR. METHODS: Immunohistochemical method were used to detect the expression of HO-1 in idiopathic IUGR patients (IUGR ...

Recent work has demonstrated that fusion of the calvarial sutures is mediated by locally elaborated soluble growth factors, including the transforming growth factor-betas (TGF-betas), leading some to speculate that external biomechanical forces play little role in suture development. Clinical evidence has long suggested, however, that fetal head constraint may play ...

Nitric oxide (NO) and adrenomedullin (AM) are both involved in the regulation of fetoplacental circulation in human pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal NO supplementation in pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) on maternal and fetal NO and AM concentrations and their ...

Epidemiologic studies suggest that intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) can lead to impaired lung function, yet little information exists on the effects of IUGR on airway development. Our objectives were to characterize morphometrically effects of IUGR on airway structure in the fetus and to determine whether alterations persist into postnatal life. ...

The Alagille syndrome (AGS) is a multisystem autosomal dominant condition. In this case report, we describe a pregnant woman with this unusual disorder, in whom serial fetal sonography revealed severe pulmonary stenosis and progressively severe intrauterine growth retardation, suggesting that the fetus also had AGS, a diagnosis which was confirmed ...

Placental growth hormone (PGH) is the product of the GH-V gene, predominantly expressed in the syncytiotrophoblast layer of the human placenta. PGH differs from pituitary growth hormone by 13 amino acids and possesses one glycosylation site. It has high somatogenic and low lactogenic activities. In the maternal circulation from 12-20 ...

Male siblings with intrauterine growth retardation, hydrops, mild liver dysfunction, chronic diarrhoea, failure to thrive and microcephaly are reported. In both patients, the intrauterine growth retardation was detected in the second trimester of pregnancy. Relatively severe early onset neonatal jaundice, microcytosis, anisocytosis and abnormal iron metabolism were also seen. Bone ...

Poor prenatal growth is associated with limited evidence of GH deficiency in adult humans, which may contribute to their increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. We therefore examined the effects of placental restriction of fetal growth (PR) on size at birth, neonatal fractional growth rate (FGR) and the circulating ...

In cord blood and late gestation maternal serum, IGF-I is positively correlated with birth weight, whereas IGF-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) is inversely correlated with birth weight. Our goal was to determine whether maternal serum or amniotic fluid concentrations of IGF-I, IGFBP-1, or nonphosphorylated IGFBP-1 (npIGFBP-1) in early gestation predict later fetal ...

PURPOSE: To determine whether fetal growth measured at serial ultrasonographic (US) examinations can predict neonatal morbidity, independent of whether gestational age is known. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women (n = 321) who had singleton pregnancies and underwent two or more second- or third-trimester obstetric US examinations were included in a retrospective ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of environmental hypoxia at 4300-m altitude on the maternal serum concentration of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 108 pregnant women in Peru, 62 from high altitude (4300 m, 14100 ft) and 46 from sea level at 14-42 ...

Pathophysiological processes underlying intrauterine growth restriction are very complex and poorly understood. Growth restricted fetuses are at risk of hypoxia and, therefore, an early diagnosis of intrauterine growth restriction is important for initiation of fetal surveillance. Application of a three-dimensional ultrasound method for estimation of fetal weight promises better precision. ...

Fetal intrauterine growth restriction presents a complex management problem for the clinician. The failure of a fetus to achieve its growth potential imparts a significantly increased risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Consequently, the obstetrician must recognize and accurately diagnose inadequate fetal growth and attempt to determine its cause. Growth ...

We report here a case with severe intrauterine growth restriction from the first trimester and clinical features of Silver-Russell syndrome including microcephaly, low-set ear, atrial septum defect, ventricular septum defect, diaphragmatic relaxation, and rocker bottom feet. Silver-Russell syndrome is thought to result from deletion of the distal long arm of ...

Nutrient insults in early pregnancy, such as nutrient deprivation during famines, are often associated with an unfavourable outcome. Suboptimal nutrition in the early stage of gestation has been linked to a number of adverse effects on fetal growth and development. Historically, nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) was an important ...

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is an important regulator of fetal growth, and circulating concentrations are reduced in intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) fetuses. We investigated whether IGF-I administered into amniotic fluid could ameliorate IUGR in fetal sheep. Fetuses were assigned to control (n = 9), IUGR+saline (n = 12), or IUGR+IGF-I ...

Leptin is an endocrine and a growth factor which is important for regulation of body fat, feeding, and energy homeostasis. The anti-obesity function of leptin has been recently extended to reproduction, puberty and pregnancy as an endocrine signal to the hypothalamus. Leptin controls the functional integrity of the feto-placental unit ...

OBJECTIVE: Red blood cell (RBC) deformability is one of the factors determining microcirculation. In preeclampsia (PE) and some cases of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), microcirculation appears to be reduced. The aim of the study is to examine whether there are differences in RBC deformability in uncomplicated pregnancy when compared to ...

Knowledge of the anabolic effects of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) on fetal growth and feto-placental metabolism are derived from studies using large doses of IGF-I. Low doses of enteral IGF-I have trophic effects on the fetal gut, but there are no data on the effects of systemic low doses ...

Low birthweight piglets have an increased incidence of mortality and morbidity. As there are few opportunities to remedy the detrimental consequences of low birthweight after birth, it is important to understand the nature of fetal growth retardation and to identify when low birthweight fetuses deviate from the growth trajectory of ...

AIM: Fetal intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is one of the most common obstetric problems, with a frequency of 12% in Mexico. In the past, investigations have focused on extrinsic causes of IUGR. More recent studies have examined the intrinsic factors that cause fetal intrauterine growth. Maintenance of fetal growth has ...

Intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) and prematurity are the two causes for delivery of low birth weight infants. In India, IUGR contributes to almost two-thirds of infants in this category. Poor nutritional status and frequent pregnancies are common pre-disposing conditions in addition to obstetric and medical problems during pregnancy. Growth restriction ...

The aim of this study was to investigate how administration of IGF-I and IGF-II, during early to mid pregnancy, affects maternal growth and body composition as well as fetal and placental growth, in ad libitum fed, and in moderately, chronically food restricted guinea pigs. From day 20 of gestation, mothers ...

The objective of the study discussed was to develop an intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) index to detect fetuses with IUGR. The study was conducted in Australia and was based on 219 pregnant women at Wollongong Hospital in the Illawarra region in New South Wales, Australia. Overall, 21 variables, including ultrasonographic ...

1. A range of epidemiological studies has shown that poor intra-uterine growth is associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and the Metabolic syndrome in adult life. 2. Because these associations are independent of adult lifestyle or current size, it has been postulated that a reduced ...

L-[1-13C]Leucine, [1-13C]glycine, L-[1-13C]phenylalanine, and L-[1-13C]proline were infused as a bolus into the maternal circulation of seven appropriate for gestational age at 30.3 +/- 3.0 wk and 7 intrauterine growth-restricted pregnancies at 26.5 +/- 1.0 wk gestation to investigate placental transport in vivo. Umbilical venous samples were obtained at the time ...

OBJECTIVES: Fundamental research into the growth of twins is lacking. Twin growth in utero is commonly assumed to follow similar patterns of growth as that of singletons. This preliminary descriptive study on twin pregnancy aimed to define growth velocity as gestation advances, and to study if twin order, fetal sex, ...

To answer the intriguing question whether or not endothermic microbial growth exists, and in particular, to verify Heijnen and van Dijken's prediction (1992), acetotrophic methanogen, Methanosarcina barkeri, has been cultivated in a highly sensitive bench-scale calorimeter (an improved Bio-RC1 reaction calorimeter) in a pH auxostat fashion. A growth yield of ...

11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11beta-HSD2) inactivates cortisol to cortisone. In the placenta 11beta-HSD2 activity is thought to protect the fetus from the deleterious effects of maternal glucocorticoids. Patients with apparent mineralocorticoid excess owing to mutations in the 11beta-HSD2 gene invariably have reduced birth weight, and we have recently shown reduced ...