Disparities and relative risk ratio of preterm birth in six Central and Eastern European centers.

Aim: To identify characteristic risk factors of preterm birth in Central and Eastern Europe and explore the differences from other developed countries.

Method: Data on 33,794 term and 3867 preterm births (<37 wks.) were extracted in a retrospective study between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2009.

Corticotrophin-releasing hormone in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated term fetal membranes and amniotic fluid from term and preterm birth in African Americans and Caucasians.

The objective of this study is to document differences in corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), CRH receptor 1 (CRHR1), and CRH binding protein (CRHBP) gene expression in fetal membranes derived from African Americans and Caucasians in vitro in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation and to assess racial disparity in CRH concentrations in the amniotic fluid (AF) of women with spontaneous preterm birth (PTB). Fetal membranes (African American, n = 8; Caucasian, n = 8) at term, placed in an organ explant system, were stimulated with LPS. Microarray analysis documented differences in the mRNA expression pattern of CRH, CRHBP, and CRHR1 between races.