Publications by authors named "Christian Widnes"
Introduction: Maternal cardiac dysfunction as well as abnormal uterine artery (UtA) Doppler are associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), but their relation is unclear. We investigated the correlation between maternal cardiac function, UtA hemodynamics and natriuretic peptides, and explored differences between women who subsequently developed HDP and those who did not.
Material And Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional cohort study of 347 pregnant women at 22-24 weeks.
Background: Sexual dimorphism in placental size and function has been described. Whether this influences the clinically important umbilical artery (UA) waveform remains controversial, although a few cross-sectional studies have shown sex differences in UA pulsatility index (PI). Therefore, we tested whether fetal sex influences the UA Doppler indices during the entire second half of pregnancy and aimed to establish sex-specific reference ranges for UA Doppler indices if needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To investigate gestational age-specific serial changes in umbilical vein (UV) volume blood flow during the second half of normal pregnancy and establish sex-specific reference ranges.
Methods: This work was a prospective longitudinal study of singleton low-risk pregnancies. The UV diameter and maximum blood flow velocity were serially measured by sonography at the intra-abdominal portion of the UV over 19 to 41 weeks.
Introduction: Placental blood flow is closely associated with fetal growth and wellbeing. Recent studies suggest that there are differences in blood flow between male and female fetuses. We hypothesized that sexual dimorphism exists in fetal and placental blood flow at 22-24 weeks of gestation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- This study aimed to investigate laeverin, a placenta-specific enzyme, by measuring its plasma levels in healthy pregnant women during the second half of pregnancy and postpartum.
- It compared laeverin expression in women who later developed preeclampsia to healthy controls, particularly at the 22-24 week mark.
- Results showed that healthy pregnant women had significantly higher laeverin levels than men and non-pregnant women, with notable decreases as pregnancy progressed, and many preeclamptic women had low laeverin levels early in pregnancy.
Objective: To compare cardiac function, systemic hemodynamics and preload reserve of women with increased (cases) and normal (controls) uterine artery (UtA) pulsatility index (PI) at 22-24 weeks of gestation.
Materials And Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study of 620 pregnant women. UtA blood flow velocities were measured using Doppler ultrasonography, and PI was calculated.