This study investigated the aetiology of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP) in primary care using a new methodology. Eighteen women in early pregnancy had 2 blood samples taken in one 24-hour time period, one when they were symptomatic, and another when they were symptom-free. Maternal serum levels of the ...

Immunoreactivity that is contents/affinity of natural antibodies (N-Ab) of IgG class to developmentally related proteins MBP, S100, ACBP14/18 and MP65 were measured in serum samples of 1987 women at their pregnancy terms of 3-12 weeks. The pregnancy results of the examined women were analyzed 4-9 months later. It was revealed ...

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding protein-4 (IGFBP-4), a consistent inhibitor of IGF action, is subject to proteolytic cleavage by the IGF-II-dependent IGFBP-4 protease. However, regulation of the IGF-II-dependent IGFBP-4 protease in vivo is not known. As IGFBP proteases are known to be triggered during pregnancy, we systematically evaluated the changes in ...

Fetal blood was obtained in 35 normal pregnancies undergoing termination for psychosocial reasons between 11 and 17 weeks of gestation. Biochemical and endocrinological analyses were performed on each sample including concentrations of urea, creatinine, beta-microglobulin total protein, electrolytes, enzymes, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroxin ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and evaluate their capacity to serve as a marker for the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy (EP). DESIGN: Prospective, case-controlled study. SETTING: A tertiary care center. PATIENT(S): Twenty women with EP, 10 women with normal intrauterine pregnancy, and 10 women ...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to determine the value of maternal serum CA-125 concentrations in pregnancies complicated by fetal anomalies with or without hydramnios. STUDY DESIGN: The study population (n=40) consisted of the following four groups of patients: (1) 10 women with abnormal maternal serum alpha fetal protein ...

The relationship between a selective increase in circulating immunoreactive (ir)-inhibin and the time of ovulation was investigated in mares. Concentrations of plasma ir-inhibin were measured every 4 h during the periovulatory period. Inhibin pro-alphaC, a precursor protein of the inhibin alpha-subunit, was also measured. The changes in ir-inhibin and inhibin ...

Superoxide dismutase (SOD: EC1.15.1.1) has been shown to increase in Down syndrome (DS) subjects and in amniotic fluid from DS affected pregnancies. In order to verify a possible increase of maternal serum SOD in DS affected pregnancies and its possible contribution in prenatal screening, the serum enzyme activity was retrospectively ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine 1. the relationship between maternal serum leptin concentrations and maternal anthropometry and 2. the relationship between cord serum leptin concentrations at birth and neonatal anthropometry. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study of fetal growth in low-risk pregnancies. SETTING: University teaching hospital. SAMPLE: Thirty-nine women and their babies taking part ...

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the value of all 3 common biochemical serum markers, maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein, beta-human chorionic gonadotropin, and unconjugated estriol, and combinations thereof as predictors of pregnancy outcome. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 60,040 patients underwent maternal serum screening. All patients had maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein measurements; beta-human chorionic gonadotropin ...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) are ubiquitous carcinogenic and teratogenic compounds that are transplacentally transferred from mother to fetus during pregnancy. It was the aim of the present study to evaluate the possible influence of maternal age and duration of pregnancy on the neonatal burden with these substances. Blood ...

COX-2 protein, but not COX-1 protein, was induced in HUVEC from women with a normal pregnancy (nHUVEC) treated with serum from patients with preeclampsia (pSerum), but not with serum from women with a normal pregnancy (nSerum). COX activity in pSerum treated nHUVEC was less than in nSerum treated nHUVEC. Interestingly, ...

Pentraxins such as human serum amyloid P component (SAP) and C reactive protein (CRP) represent an ancient family of proteins that are ubiquitous in nature and have evolved with little change in structure or regulation. The pentraxin in the Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) is unique because it is preferentially expressed ...

Pruritic folliculitis (PF) is one of the specific dermatoses of pregnancy the aetiology of which remains unknown. Several theories have been proposed, and the most commonly accepted is that it represents a hormonally induced acne, as seen in patients taking progestogenic steroids. This theory led to the proposition that serum ...

Zinc is an important trace element having a definitive role in the metabolism, growth and development and reproduction. During pregnancy the requirements for zinc increase. This study was designed to evaluate the zinc status of normal women, normal pregnant women and their newborn babies. Forty normal adult females, 40 normal ...

AIMS: Tramadol, a centrally acting analgesic, is used as a racemate containing 50% of a (+)- and 50% of a (-)-enantiomer. This paper presents the pharmacokinetic results of postoperative patient-controlled analgesia using (+)-tramadol, (-)-tramadol or the racemate. METHODS: Ninety-eight patients recovering from major gynaecological surgery were treated in a randomised, ...

Maternal serum samples were collected from 19 pregnancies which resulted in the birth of a child with the classical Cornelia de Lange syndrome phenotype ascertained by careful clinical review. Using specific immunoassays, the serum levels of pregnancy associated plasma protein-A, free-beta human chorionic gonadotrophin and inhibin A were investigated. Pregnancy ...

AIM: To measure MCA and CA153 concentrations in maternal serum (MS) and amniotic fluid (AF) paired samples during normal pregnancy, in order to evaluate the usefulness of these markers in monitoring pregnant patients with a history of breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Serum and AF MCA and CA153 values were ...

A great deal of new information has arisen in the past 2 years concerning the physiology of inhibins and their clinical relevance in reproductive medicine. It is now recognized that the two inhibin isoforms, inhibin A and inhibin B, are produced by the gonads in the course of gamete maturation ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the reference values for heat-stable alkaline phosphatase in apparently healthy non-pregnant and in normal pregnant females and to assess the suitability of this parameter as a measure of placental function and indirectly as a measure of foetal survival. DESIGN: A prospective study. SETTING: Ante-natal clinic, University of ...

2-Hydroxyestradiol 17-sulphate (2-OH E2-17-S) is a catecholized form of sulphated estrogen. In vitro studies showed that its antioxidative effect is almost equal to that of free catecholestrogens, such as 2-OH E2 or 4-OH E2 and alpha-tocoferol, but the existance of 2-OH E2-17-S in human serum has not yet been made ...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has important effects on endothelial cells increasing cell proliferation, permeability and nitric oxide production; concentrations of VEGF in the maternal serum increase during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. In this study, the relationship of maternal serum VEGF with maternal health during pregnancy and with ...

Inhibin A is now an established second-trimester maternal serum marker of Down syndrome. Since activin A has a common beta-subunit to inhibin A we evaluated this substance and its binding protein, follistatin, as potential markers. We studied 30 affected and 199 unaffected pregnancies at 13-16 weeks' gestation. There was a ...

OBJECTIVE: To examine etoposide (VP16) levels in serum and pleural effusion after intravenous infusion or intrathoracic instillation to lung cancer patients. METHODS: Four patients were administered VP16 by intrathoracic instillation and three patients were administered it intravenously. Serum, urine, and pleural effusion were collected and VP16 levels in the biological ...

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the calcium status in normal pregnant Malay women. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, serum parathormone (PTH) and calcium concentrations, and 24-h urinary calcium excretion were estimated in age-matched normotensive pregnant women, over the 3 trimesters. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were evident in serum ionised calcium concentrations ...

OBJECTIVE: In the second trimester of pregnancy, inhibin A is significantly increased in maternal serum and decreased in amniotic fluid in Down's syndrome pregnancies compared to normal. We wished to further evaluate the levels of inhibin A, inhibin B, pro-alpha C inhibin, activin A and the binding protein follistatin in ...

Serum cholesterol, triacylglycerols and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) subfractions were determined in 120 primagravid women during normal gestation (40 in each trimester) and in 20 non-pregnant age-matched controls. LDL subfractions were determined by PAGE, and an LDL score was calculated. The higher the score, the smaller the subfractions. The objective of ...

Thrombopoietin (TPO) is a ligand for c-mpl, which regulates the differentiation and maturation of megakaryocytes. Essential thrombocythaemia (ET) is a clonal myeloproliferative disorder. It has been reported that the platelet count declines during pregnancy in ET patients. We examined serial changes in the serum TPO level during the course of ...

OBJECTIVE: To study the changes in concentrations of serum hyaluronic acid in uncomplicated human pregnancies. METHODS: We determined the concentrations of serum hyaluronic acid, using a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, in 70 nonpregnant women, 250 women during their pregnancies, and 68 women at the time of parturition. Results were analyzed ...

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that the common missense mutation of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) (677 C to T, ala to val) is more prevalent among nulliparous preeclamptic women compared with control and transient hypertension of pregnancy patients. The correlation of the MTHFR T677/T677 genotype in mothers and fetuses was also ...

In utero exposure to dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene and polychlorinated biphenyls, within the range found in the general U.S. population, may produce detectable effects in offspring. To design studies of the effects of in utero organochlorine exposure, we obtained data on the relationship between gestational and perinatal maternal levels in females on several ...

Activin A, a dimer of the betaA-subunit of inhibin, has been shown to have multiple biological activities and sites of production. Follistatin is a high-affinity binding protein for activin, which neutralizes its activity. This study provides the first data, using a cross-sectional design, on the measurement of both these proteins ...

OBJECTIVES: To determine maternal serum leptin concentrations throughout normal pregnancy, as well as cord blood leptin concentration, and to correlate serum and cord blood leptin levels with gestational weight gain and birth weight, respectively. METHODS: This study comprised 52 normal pregnant women, including 11 in the first, 19 in the ...

OBJECTIVE: The object was to study serum concentrations of reproductive hormones and aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen in early pregnancy as markers of pelvic pain (sacral pain or symphyseal pain) during later pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, clinical cohort study was performed, with repeated examinations of 200 women. RESULTS: ...

OBJECTIVE: Preeclampsia is a severe complication in pregnancy, causing considerable maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Experimental evidence indicates that adhesion molecules are key factors of endothelial activation in preeclampsia. The aim of our study was to evaluate if serum levels of adhesion molecules CD44 and ELAM-1 provide clinically useful ...

Calcium-regulating hormones were serially measured during the second pregnancy in a woman with pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1b. Calcium levels corrected for serum albumin were maintained almost normal during her second pregnancy with 1alpha-hydroxycalciferol (2.0 microg daily) though they were slightly decreased in late pregnancy. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D levels were higher in early ...

Normal pregnancy is a physiological condition of balanced hypercoagulability. However, in preeclamptic pregnancies, the coagulation and fibrinolytic cascades are highly activated, accompanied by pathological blood rheology and endothelial dysfunction. This may result in disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Atherosclerosis research showed that lipids may interfere with coagulation and cause endothelial dysfunction. ...

We sought to determine the maternal serum levels of four tumor-associated antigens during the three trimesters of pregnancy in healthy women. CEA, CA 228, CA 15-3, and Her2/neu oncogene product p105 assay values were determined for 90 healthy pregnant women during the three trimesters of pregnancy at five participating evaluation ...

This review summarizes the new information on the studies of inhibin, activin, and follistatin production in the placenta during human pregnancy. Inhibin and activin exert suppressive and stimulatory effects, respectively, on the release of FSH in the pituitary. Follistatin is bound to inhibin and activin and indirectly modulates the FSH ...

Diseases of the parathyroid gland are uncommon in women of childbearing age. However, total serum calcium is lower in normal pregnancy, but ionized serum calcium remains within normal limits. Serum parathyroid levels are slightly decreased in the second half of pregnancy. Primary hyperparathyroidism, if unrecognized, may increase maternal and fetal ...

OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were (1) to examine the relationship between leptin and placental hormones by measuring serial changes in serum levels of leptin during and after pregnancy and (2) to study the effects of several gestational hormones on leptin release from fully differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocyte cell cultures. ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was too determine whether, in a low-dose aspirin trial in high-risk pregnancies, a decrease in maternal serum thromboxane B2 level predicted improved pregnancy outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: This multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial included 2539 women, 1010 of whom had sufficient serum samples at enrollment and ...

Serum levels of aminotransferases, lactate dehydrogenase, gammaglutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, albumin and conjugated bilirubin, measured in 54 women at a median of 31 months (range 3-101) after pregnancies complicated by the HELLP syndrome, were not elevated. Total bilirubin levels, however, were elevated in 20% of these women; this represents a ...

The IGFs are believed to be important in pregnancy and are implicated in the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia. In adults the IGFs circulate primarily with IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and an acid-labile glycoprotein (ALS) in a 140 kDa complex which limits IGF bioavailability. Less than 10% of IGFBP-3 is in lower molecular ...

Using two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays specific for inhibin A and pro-alpha C inhibin, levels of the two proteins were assessed in maternal serum from 43 Down syndrome and 300 chromosomally normal pregnancies at 15-17 weeks' gestation. Compared to the control pregnancies, both inhibin A and pro-alpha C inhibin were significantly ...

Erythromycin is the recommended therapy for pregnant women with chlamydial infection. Despite the fact that this drug has been available since 1952, relatively little is known about its pharmacokinetic behavior in pregnant women, and no investigations have been conducted in women who were in the third trimester of pregnancy. In ...

OBJECTIVE: This study was intended to measure serum concentrations of nitrite plus nitrate as an index of nitric oxide synthesis, in the maternal vein during pregnancy, just after a spontaneous delivery and at the puerperium, and at an elective cesarean section, and in the umblical vein and artery. METHODS: Maternal ...

There is no established therapeutic regimen for treatment of hypoparathyroidism during pregnancy. This is due particularly to uncertainty about the use of vitamin D or its analogues, as in animal experiments teratogenic side-effects have been reported. Nevertheless, vitamin D or its analogues are required to control tetany predisposing to abortion ...

Maternal serum inhibin-A concentration is a useful marker in prenatal screening for Down syndrome in the second trimester. We measured inhibin-A concentrations in 4304 pregnancies without Down syndrome between 14 and 22 weeks of pregnancy to determine the median values according to gestational age. There was a U-shaped pattern of ...

We examined the appearance of high-molecular-mass placental alkaline phosphatases (HPLAPs) in the serum of normal pregnant women by means of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in the presence of Triton X-100. The HPLAPs were undetectable or only slightly detectable by PAGE in the absence of Triton X-100. The HPLAPs were detected ...