ABSTRACT: MAVIDOS is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (ISRCTN82927713, registered 2008 Apr 11), funded by Arthritis Research UK, MRC, Bupa Foundation and NIHR. BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is a major public health problem as a result of associated fragility fractures. Skeletal strength increases from birth to a peak in early adulthood. This ...

This experiment investigated effects of lipoproteins and Trolox (vitamin E analogue) on bovine embryo and fetal development. The treatments were: in vitro culture (IVC) in synthetic oviducal fluid alone (SOF); with bovine lipoproteins (2% v/v; SOFLP); with Trolox (100μM; SOFT); and with lipoproteins and Trolox (SOFLPT). In vitro culture with ...

This study isolated the effects of maternal hypoxia independent of changes in maternal nutrition on maternal circulatory and placental molecular indices of oxidative stress and determined whether maternal antioxidant treatment conferred protection. Pregnant rats were subjected to normoxic pregnancy or 13% O2 chronic hypoxia for most of gestation with and ...

Oocyte cryopreservation has become an essential tool in the treatment of infertility by preserving oocytes for women undergoing chemotherapy. However, despite recent advances, pregnancy rates from all cryopreserved oocytes remain low. The inevitable use of the cryoprotectants (CPAs) during preservation affects the viability of the preserved oocytes and pregnancy rates ...

Background: Numerous studies have linked criteria air pollutants with adverse birth outcomes, but there is less information on the importance of specific emission sources, such as traffic, and air toxics. Objectives: We used three exposure data sources to examine odds of term low birth weight (LBW) in Los Angeles women ...

The potential of oral exposure to calcium and magnesium citrate, a natural product obtained from dolomite, to initiate teratogenesis was analyzed in Wistar rats. Animals received calcium and magnesium citrate oral doses of 250, 500 and 1000mg/kg during the period of gestation from day 6 to 17 post conception. Maternal, ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Many previous studies have found seasonal patterns in birth outcomes, but with little agreement about which season poses the highest risk. Some of the heterogeneity between studies may be explained by a previously unknown bias. The bias occurs in retrospective cohorts which include all births occurring within a ...

This literature review is meant to serve as a brief reference for acute and chronic poisonings in pregnant women, specifically involving environmental toxicants commonly present in the home or workplace. These scenarios are familiar to primary care providers but cause great confusion for practitioners and anxiety in the pregnant patient. ...

Preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction define two disorders of a multifactorial etiology that compromise maternal and fetal well being as well as cardiovascular health in later life. Many of the overt symptoms of preeclampsia are attributable to the systemic endothelial dysfunction observed in the uteroplacental and systemic circulation, leading to ...

Objective. To investigate the effect of l-arginine on fetal growth restriction (FGR) in terms of the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in placenta. Methods. Sixty pregnant women with FGR were randomized to receive conventional treatment alone (control group, n = 30) or in combination with l-arginine (l-arginine group, n = 30). The parameters of fetal growth ...

To investigate if maternal levels of human placental lactogen (hPL), placental growth hormone (PGH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are associated with growth rate of the biparietal diameter (BPD) in the first half of pregnancy. Data on 8215 singleton fetuses from the Copenhagen First Trimester Study with measurements of BPD ...

Thrombophilia or the tendency for thrombosis has been linked to pregnancy complications, which include fetal growth restriction. The aim of the present study was to determine the association of maternal thrombophilias with unexplained fetal growth restriction. Inherited and acquired thrombophilias were checked in 34 women whose pregnancies were complicated by ...

The obesity epidemic, including childhood obesity, is rapidly gaining strength as one of the most significant challenges to the health of the global community in the 21st Century. The proportion of women who are obese at the beginning of pregnancy is also increasing. These women and their babies are at ...

To investigate the role of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway in fetal growth restriction (FGR). A case-control study. Research laboratory and gynaecology clinic. Twenty placentas from normal pregnancies and 20 from FGR pregnancies. RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay, statistical analysis. mRNA expression of HIF-1α, ...

Maternal insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) play a pivotal role in modulating fetal growth via their actions on both the mother and the placenta. Circulating IGFs influence maternal tissue growth and metabolism, thereby regulating nutrient availability for the growth of the conceptus. Maternal IGFs also regulate placental morphogenesis, substrate transport and ...

To estimate the association between placenta previa and abnormal fetal growth. Retrospective cohort study of consecutive women undergoing ultrasound between 15 and 22 weeks. Groups were defined by the presence or absence of complete or partial placenta previa. The primary outcome was intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), defined as a birthweight ...

Maternal undernutrition during sensitive periods of pregnancy results in offspring predisposed towards the development of a number of diseases of adulthood, including hypertension and diabetes. In order to determine the nature of any gross alterations in fetal growth during early organogenesis, we supplied timed-mated pregnant mice with diets containing 6% ...

Pro- versus anti-inflammatory cytokine balance is important for successful pregnancy. Chronic hypoxia alters cytokine levels and increases the frequency of fetal growth restriction (FGR). Multigenerational Andean (AND) versus shorter duration European (EUR) high-altitude (HA) residents are protected from altitude-associated FGR. To address whether ancestry group differences in cytokine levels were ...

Normal development and function of the placenta is critical to achieving a successful pregnancy, as normal fetal growth depends directly on the transfer of nutrients from mother to fetus via this organ. Recently, it has become apparent from both animal and human studies that growth factors within the maternal circulation, ...

Heparin was hypothesized to facilitate the growth of the growth-restricted fetus. Our study was to assess the efficiency of heparin in treating fetus with growth restriction and to explore the possible mechanisms. Seventy-three pregnant women were selected in this study. Based on regular treatments, patients randomly received either heparin or ...

The association between stillbirth and fetal growth restriction is strong and supported by a large body of evidence and clinically employed for the stillbirth prediction. However, although assessment of fetal growth is a basis of clinical practice, it is not trivial. Essentially, fetal growth is a result of the genetic ...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preeclampsia (PE) are leading causes of perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Many studies have found association between low levels of insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) proteases in the first trimester maternal circulation and the risk of subsequent development of PE and/or IUGR. These ...

We sought to define the relationship between first trimester fetal growth, pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) levels and birthweight. Two-hundred and one women with repeat first trimester crown-rump length (CRL) measurements were included. In 194, the first trimester PAPP-A value was known and in 169 there was complete data including ...

Cumulative evidence suggests that the origins of obesity may occur during fetal development. In this respect, the concept of "developmental programming" was introduced and supported by experimental and epidemiological data. This concept supports the idea that the nutritional and hormonal status during pregnancy could irreversibly interfere in metabolism control. The ...

This study was carried out to investigate growth indicators of fetal lean mass and fat mass in the second half of the gestational period in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in comparison to normal control pregnancies. Forty-three control and 171 GDM pregnancies were followed longitudinally by ultrasound examinations, ...

As background for an antibody-based therapeutic program against the IGF receptor, we undertook a review of available information on the early pregnancy-specific regulation and localization of IGFs, IGF-binding proteins (BPs), IGFBP-specific proteases, and the type 1 IGF receptor relative to placental maintenance, function of placental nutrient transporters, placental cellular differentiation/turnover/apoptosis, ...

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling has been linked to tumor cell survival and tumorigenesis. The anti-IGF-1 receptor monoclonal antibody, figitumumab, has been developed as an anti-cancer therapeutic. As part of the safety evaluation, an embryo-fetal developmental toxicity study was conducted in the cynomolgus monkey. Figitumumab was administered once weekly intravenously ...

OBJECTIVE: We investigated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content in the maternal circulation of normal pregnancies of different gestational ages and in pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). STUDY DESIGN: We examined 70 maternal blood samples: 13 nonpregnant women; 45 normal pregnancies, divided into the 3 trimesters; and 12 pregnancies complicated ...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) depends on the placental capacity to transfer oxygen and nutrients from the maternal to the fetal circulation. Placental insufficiency may be caused by impairment of the maternal or fetal circulation by a thrombotic event, possibly associated with thrombophilic disorders. The goals of our study were to ...

This study investigated the serum concentration of soluble CD30 (sCD30) in pregnant women with isolated fetal intrauterine growth restriction, in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia with and without accompanying intrauterine growth restriction, and in normotensive healthy pregnant controls. Lower serum concentrations of sCD30 were observed in the group of normotensive pregnant ...

The development of an organ may be affected by various growth and differentiation factors released from other organs. These factors are believed to have important effects on the development of multiple organs. To detect and analyze harmonized development among multiple organs, similarities in growth patterns among fetal organs were examined ...

To describe the individual intrauterine growth patterns of fetuses of insulin-dependent (Type-1) diabetic women and to examine determinants of overgrowth (macrosomia) and its timing. This retrospective longitudinal study examined the developmental trajectories of fetal abdominal circumference (AC) and biparietal diameter in 76 Type-1 diabetic women with singleton pregnancies. Latent class ...

Maternal seafood intake is of great health interest since it constitutes an important source of n-3 fatty acids, but provides also an important pathway for fetal exposure to Hg. The objective of the present study was to determine associations between Hg contamination and both maternal seafood consumption and fetal growth ...

The aim of this study was to investigate circulating concentrations of omentin-1 and vaspin (adipocytokines predominantly secreted by visceral adipose tissue and not yet investigated in perinatal life) in maternal, fetal, and neonatal samples from intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR; associated with altered development of adipose tissue) and appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) pregnancies and ...

BACKGROUND: Caffeine is a widely used and accepted pharmacologically active substance. The effect of caffeine intake during pregnancy on fetal growth and development is still unclear. OBJECTIVE: We examined the associations of maternal caffeine intake, on the basis of coffee and tea consumption, with fetal growth characteristics measured in each ...

The intrauterine environment may impact the conceptus (embryo/foetus and associated extra-embryonic membranes) during 'critical periods' of development, when rapid cell divisions occur in various tissues of the body, and may alter expression of the foetal genome, and this may have lifelong consequences; a phenomenon known as foetal programming. Among intrauterine ...

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) hinders fetal growth and postnatal development in swine; however the etiology of IUGR is essentially unknown. Expression of fourteen candidate genes associated with placental development or IUGR was examined in gestational day 50 (gd50) control and IUGR fetus whole placental tissue or areolae by real-time PCR. ...

OBJECTIVE: Telomeres shorten and aggregate with cellular senescence and oxidative stress. Telomerase and its catalytic component human telomerase reverse-transcriptase regulate telomere length. The pathogenesis of preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction involves hypoxic stress. We aimed to assess telomere length in trophoblasts from pregnancies with those complications. STUDY DESIGN: Placental specimens ...

Vigabatrin (VGB) has several therapeutic advantages over older antiepileptic drugs (AED), but there is a lack of information about its potential reproductive toxicologic effects. Our aim was to evaluate the consequences of VGB administered during late gestation on fetal growth and development in the mouse. Based on the results of ...

Twelve pregnancies in 11 adult women harboring World Health Organization (WHO) grade II gliomas (GIIGs) prior to pregnancy were reviewed to address whether pregnancy affects tumor growth using a quantitative approach of the radiological velocity of diametric expansion (VDE) on successive magnetic resonance images. VDE was significantly increased during pregnancy ...

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis, a key regulator of embryonic growth and development, is exquisitely sensitive to the nutrient status of the animal. In addition to macronutrient deficiencies, zinc deficiency can impact the IGF axis. Gestational zinc deficiency is teratogenic, resulting in intrauterine growth retardation and structural abnormalities. The ...

Obesity in adults and children is increasingly becoming a major health problem worldwide. However, the precise biological mechanisms governing this disease have not been fully elucidated. Obesity involves the complex interaction of a wide range of environmental and genetic factors. Additionally, there is now a growing body of evidence suggesting ...

Most research on the developmental origins of health and disease has implicated poor nutrition in the fetus, most often conferred by deficiencies in maternal nutrition, as an important causal factor that programmes offspring physiology for adult disease. Emerging evidence implicates interactions between genes and the environment that may help to ...

Normal fetal growth is a critical component of a healthy pregnancy and influences the long-term health of the offspring. However, defining normal and abnormal fetal growth has been a long-standing challenge in clinical practice and research. We review various references and standards that are used widely to evaluate fetal growth ...

Maternal risk factors may interfere with mechanisms regulating fetal growth. The aim of the present study was to determine which sociodemographic and reproductive risk factors may be related to fetal growth restriction (FGR), with a special focus on determinants possible for preventive intervention. The study period is from May 2007 ...

OBJECTIVE: Endothelin receptor A (ETA) antagonism improves fetal and placental growth and placental perfusion on days 1 and 4, but not day 7 of a 7-day infusion of a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor. Our purpose was to evaluate the significance of the degree of ETA antagonist selectivity on uteroplacental ...

Until today the role of oxygen in the development of the fetus remains controversially discussed. It is still believed that lack of oxygen in utero might be responsible for some of the known congenital cardiovascular malformations. Over the last two decades detailed research has given us new insights and a ...

We aimed to investigate possible alterations in circulating levels of the perinatal stress markers high sensitivity (hs)-CRP, PAI-1, and S100B--probably reflecting brain and adipose tissue inflammation--in intrauterine growth-restricted-(IUGR) and appropriate-for-gestational-age-(AGA) pregnancies, given that these groups differ in fat mass and metabolic mechanisms involving aseptic inflammation. Serum hs-CRP, PAI-1, and S100B ...

Despite the importance of glucose for fetal growth, placental gene expression related to the glycolytic pathway has not been studied. Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and insulin are known to play a critical role in fetal growth. In our study, we identified differentially expressed genes related to the glycolytic pathway using ...

Insufficient oxygen leads to the cessation of growth in favor of cellular survival. Our unique model of high-altitude human pregnancy indicates that hypoxia-induced reductions in fetal growth occur at higher levels of oxygen than previously described. Fetal PO(2) is surprisingly high and fetal oxygen consumption unaffected by high altitude, whereas ...