Challenges in management of Bartholin gland leiomyoma: A case report.

Leiomyomas are uncommon vulvar neoplasms often misdiagnosed as other Bartholin gland pathology. This case report describes a case of accelerating growth of a vulvar mass, initially diagnosed as Bartholin cyst. Surgical excision led to a histopathologic diagnosis of vulvar leiomyoma.

Anatomical and functional changes in arteries of uterine circulation after modified laparoscopic transabdominal cerclage in pregnancy: A case report and review of the literature.

Modified laparoscopic transabdominal cerclage (LTAC) was developed as a safer approach for the treatment of cervical insufficiency in pregnancy, with the cerclage tape placed lateral to the uterine vessels. We describe and review the evolution of a woman who successfully underwent an LTAC at 12 weeks of gestation, whose fetus developed growth retardation after 32 weeks. Three-dimensional power Doppler reconstruction viewed both uterine arteries (UtAs) inside of the cerclage until the second trimester.

Conservative treatment of fetal dyshormonogenetic goiter with levothyroxine, a systematic literature review.

Fetal goitrous hypothyroidism is a rare condition associated with important obstetrical, neonatal complications, and neurodevelopmental impairments. Prenatal treatment remains controversial, and the risk to benefit ratio must be accurately assessed and considered for individualized management. The objective of this review was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of the conservative treatment of fetal goitrous hypothyroidism.

A systematic review and meta-analysis indicates long-term risk of chronic and end-stage kidney disease after preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-related syndrome of variable severity, classically characterized by acute kidney involvement, with hypertension and/or proteinuria and reduced kidney function. Once considered a self-limited disease healed by delivery, it is now acknowledged that preeclampsia can affect cardiovascular and kidney health in the long term. The entity of risk has not been established and consequently follow-up policies have not been defined.

Glomerular and tubular effects of nitric oxide (NO) are regulated by angiotensin II (Ang II) in an age-dependent manner through activation of both angiotensin receptors (AT1Rs and AT2Rs) in conscious lambs.

Renin-angiotensin (RAS) and nitric oxide (NO) systems and the balance and interaction between them are considered of primary importance in maintaining fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. It has been suggested that the effects of NO may be modulated at least in part by the angiotensin (Ang) II, yet the roles of angiotensin receptor type 1 (AT1R) and type 2 (AT2R) are not well understood. Even though both Ang II and NO are elevated at birth and during the newborn period, their contribution to the adaptation of the newborn to life after birth as well as their physiological roles during development are poorly understood.

Recall of Prenatal Counselling Among Obese and Overweight Women from a Canadian Population: A Population Based Study.

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the recall of prenatal counselling received among overweight and obese women in primary care settings. Methods A sample of 1996 women with singleton, term deliveries and pre-pregnancy BMI >18.5 kg/m were identified from the All Our Babies pregnancy cohort.

Maternal perceptions of underweight and overweight for 6-8 years olds from a Canadian cohort: reporting weights, concerns and conversations with healthcare providers.

Objectives: The majority of mothers do not correctly identify their child's weight status. The reasons for the misperception are not well understood. This study's objective was to describe maternal perceptions of their child's body mass index (BMI) and maternal report of weight concerns raised by a health professional.

Biomarkers of spontaneous preterm birth: a systematic review of studies using multiplex analysis.

Objective: Despite decades of research on risk indicators of spontaneous preterm birth (PTB), reliable biomarkers are still not available to screen or diagnose high-risk pregnancies. Several biomarkers in maternal and fetal compartments have been mechanistically linked to PTB, but none of them are reliable predictors of pregnancy outcome. This systematic review was conducted to synthesize the knowledge on PTB biomarkers identified using multiplex analysis.

Maternal Whole Blood Gene Expression at 18 and 28 Weeks of Gestation Associated with Spontaneous Preterm Birth in Asymptomatic Women.

The heterogeneity of spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) requires an interdisciplinary approach to determine potential predictive risk factors of early delivery. The aim of this study was to investigate maternal whole blood gene expression profiles associated with spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB, <37 weeks) in asymptomatic pregnant women. The study population was a matched subgroup of women (51 SPTBs, 114 term delivery controls) who participated in the All Our Babies community based cohort in Calgary (n = 1878).

Renal effects of angiotensin II in the newborn period: role of type 1 and type 2 receptors.

Background: Evidence suggests a critical role for the renin-angiotensin system in regulating renal function during postnatal development. However, the physiological relevance of a highly elevated renin-angiotensin system early in life is not well understood, nor which angiotensin receptors might be involved. This study was designed to investigate the roles of angiotensin receptors type 1 (AT1R) and type 2 (AT2R) in regulating glomerular and tubular function during postnatal development.

Pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and macrosomia in a Canadian birth cohort.

Objective: To compare demographic characteristics and maternal, fetal, neonatal, and pregnancy outcomes of term macrosomic infants of obese and non-obese mothers.

Methods: A sample of 1996 singleton, term deliveries was drawn from the All Our Babies Cohort, a prospective, community-based pregnancy cohort. Maternal self-reported socio-demographic and anthropometric information was linked to the clinical data on pregnancy and birth events abstracted from electronic health records.

Maternal microbiome - A pathway to preterm birth.

Despite great medical advances in preventing maternal and infant mortality in the past century, one issue remains unresolved: why do so many women give birth prematurely? A major new field of human microbiome studies has begun to shed light on the impact of microbes (of both the commensal and pathogen varieties) on pregnancy outcomes. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing and metagenomic analysis have revealed that maternal microbiomes at a variety of niches including the oral, vaginal, gut, cervical, and even the placenta itself govern pregnancy outcomes. In this review, we describe how alterations in the microbial biomasses impact preterm birth and we discuss the major research questions concerning the cause and/or interdependent relationships between microbiome, infection, and preterm delivery.

The Influence of Back Pain and Urinary Incontinence on Daily Tasks of Mothers at 12 Months Postpartum.

Objective: The present study examined back pain (BP) and/or urinary incontinence (UI) impact on the ability to perform daily tasks at 12 months after childbirth in healthy reproductive women who sought maternity care in community based family practice clinics.

Methods: This study is a secondary analysis from the All Our Babies Study, a prospective, community-based pregnancy cohort in Calgary, Alberta. Maternal self-reported information on demographics, lifestyle, experiences with pregnancy and childbirth, occurrence of BP, UI and consequent impairment of daily tasks were collected by questionnaires administered before 25 weeks, at 34-36 weeks gestation and at 4 and 12 months postpartum.

Perinatal outcomes of maternal overweight and obesity in term infants: a population-based cohort study in Canada.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of increased pre-pregnancy maternal body mass index (BMI) on perinatal outcomes in term, singleton pregnancies who received prenatal care in community-based practices. The sample of 1996 infants included in the study was drawn from the All Our Babies Study, a prospective pregnancy cohort from Calgary. Multivariable logistic regression explored the relationship between the main outcomes, infant birth weight, Apgar score, admission to neonatal intensive care (NICU) and newborn duration of hospitalization, and BMI prior to pregnancy.

Angiotensin type 1 and type 2 receptors during ontogeny: cardiovascular and renal effects.

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is a major component of cardiovascular and renal homeostasis, maintaining blood pressure and water and electrolyte balance in health and disease. Whilst knowledge regarding the RAS in adult organisms has substantially increased over the last three decades, physiological effects and levels of functioning of the system during the perinatal period are poorly understood. It has been shown, however, that the RAS is subject to remarkable developmental changes that involve all system components, including the main active biologic peptide, angiotensin II (Ang II) and the receptors through which these effects are mediated, type 1 receptors (AT1Rs) and type 2 receptors (AT2Rs).

Angiotensin receptors modulate the renal hemodynamic effects of nitric oxide in conscious newborn lambs.

This study aimed to elucidate the roles of both angiotensin II (ANG II) receptors - type 1 (AT1Rs) and type 2 (AT2Rs) - separately and together in influencing hemodynamic effects of endogenously produced nitric oxide (NO) during postnatal development. In conscious, chronically instrumented lambs aged ~1 week (8 ± 1 days, N = 8) and ~6 weeks (41 ± 2 days, N = 8), systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure (SAP, DAP, MAP) and venous pressure (MVP), renal blood flow (RBF), and renal vascular resistance (RVR) were measured in response to the l-arginine analog, l-NAME after pretreatment with either the AT1R antagonist, ZD 7155, the AT2R antagonist, PD 123319, or both antagonists. The increase in SAP, DAP, and MAP by l-NAME was not altered by either ATR antagonist in either age group.

Do angiotensin type 2 receptors modulate haemodynamic effects of type 1 receptors in conscious newborn lambs?

Introduction And Hypothesis: It was hypothesized that in the immediate newborn period, when the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is activated, angiotensin type 2 receptors (AT2Rs) buffer the haemodynamic effects of angiotensin type 1 receptors (AT1Rs), as occurs in adult animals when the RAS is activated.

Materials And Methods: Arterial (systolic, diastolic, and mean) pressures (SAP, DAP, MAP), mean venous pressures (MVP) and renal blood flows (RBF) were measured in conscious, chronically instrumented lambs aged ~1 (8±2 days, N=8) and 6 weeks (41±4 days, N=11). In each animal, measurements were made before and after administration of the selective AT1R antagonist ZD 7155 (experiment one) and the selective AT2R antagonist PD123319 (experiment two) as well as both antagonists, ZD 7155 and PD 123319 (experiment three).

Regulation of sPLA2-IID in Human Decidua: Insights Into the Complexity of the Prostaglandin Pathway in Labor.

Prostaglandins are implicated in the labor process, yet the precise role and regulation of the prostaglandin pathway remains to be elucidated. The first step in the pathway is cleavage of membrane phospholipids by phospholipase A (PLA). Previous work demonstrated upregulation of secretory PLA (sPLA)-IIA with labor in human myometrium, and recent evidence shows that there are numerous PLA isoforms.