Publications by authors named "Gladys A Ramos"

Article Synopsis
  • This study aimed to evaluate the link between rising bile acid levels in pregnancies affected by cholestasis and their adverse outcomes.
  • Researchers examined a group of pregnancies from 2005-2019, categorizing them based on bile acid levels and comparing the incidence of negative outcomes like preterm labor and cesarean deliveries.
  • The results showed that both progressive and severe cholestasis were linked to worsened outcomes compared to mild cholestasis, emphasizing the importance of monitoring peak bile acid levels during pregnancy.
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Objective: To estimate the association between maternal metformin use for the treatment of early gestational or pre-existing type 2 diabetes and preterm preeclampsia.

Methods: This is a planned secondary analysis of the MOMPOD study (Medical Optimization of Management of Overt Type 2 Diabetes in Pregnancy), a randomized trial comparing the effect of adding metformin with insulin treatment on composite neonatal outcome in singleton pregnancies with early gestational or type 2 diabetes. Participants were randomized at 11-23 weeks of gestation to 1,000 mg metformin twice daily or placebo until delivery.

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Article Synopsis
  • SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy can lead to serious complications such as stillbirth and preterm birth, but direct transmission to the fetus is rare.
  • This study aimed to explore if maternal infection with SARS-CoV-2 caused specific placental injuries and whether these injuries varied based on the timing of infection and severity of the disease.
  • A cohort study at UC San Diego analyzed placental samples from infected pregnancies and compared them to control samples, identifying lesions and using advanced techniques to further investigate those associated with SARS-CoV-2.
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Purpose Of Review: Rates of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) throughout the world continue to increase associated with the increasing rates of obesity. Given this epidemiologic burden, the importance of proper screening, diagnosis, and management cannot be understated. This review focuses on the current screening guidelines utilized throughout the world and new data recently published regarding the most optimal screening techniques and future directions for research.

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Background: Continuous glucose monitors provide detailed information regarding glycemic control in pregnant patients with type 1 diabetes. Little data have been published examining the association between continuous glucose monitor parameters and perinatal outcomes among gravidas with type 1 diabetes using continuous glucose monitors.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between perinatal outcomes and time-in-range as assessed by continuous glucose monitors used in pregnant individuals with type 1 diabetes.

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We report on the identification of extracellular miRNA (ex-miRNA) biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of preeclampsia (PE). Small RNA sequencing of maternal serum prospectively collected from participants undergoing evaluation for suspected PE revealed distinct patterns of ex-miRNA expression among different categories of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Applying an iterative machine learning method identified three bivariate miRNA biomarkers (, , and ) that, when applied serially, distinguished between PE cases of different severity and differentiated cases from controls with a sensitivity of 93%, specificity of 79%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 55%, and negative predictive value (NPV) of 89%.

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Importance: Insulin is recommended for pregnant persons with preexisting type 2 diabetes or diabetes diagnosed early in pregnancy. The addition of metformin to insulin may improve neonatal outcomes.

Objective: To estimate the effect of metformin added to insulin for preexisting type 2 or diabetes diagnosed early in pregnancy on a composite adverse neonatal outcome.

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Key Clinical Message: Twin pregnancies in uterine didelphys and uterus bicornuate bicollis represent dicavitary twin pregnancies that can be managed using similar principles. Consideration must be given to delivery planning including mode of delivery and uterine incision.

Abstract: Dicavitary twin pregnancies present unique challenges for obstetric management.

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Preconception diabetes is strongly associated with adverse birth outcomes. Less is known about the effects of elevated glycemia at levels below clinical cutoffs for diabetes. In this study, we estimated associations between preconception diabetes, prediabetes, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) on the risk of preterm birth, and evaluated whether associations were modified by access to or utilization of health care services.

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Objective: Current evidence is conflicting on whether early screening and treatment for gestational diabetes mellitus improve pregnancy outcomes. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials aimed to assess the rate of adverse pregnancy outcomes among participants with early screening and treatment for gestational diabetes mellitus vs those with routine care.

Data Sources: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using MEDLINE, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.

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Background: Chronic hypertension during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of adverse birth outcomes. In 2017, the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) lowered thresholds to classify hypertension in non-pregnant adults to SBP ≥ 130 mmHg and DBP ≥ 80 mmHg (ie stage I hypertension), resulting in an additional 4.5-million reproductive-aged women meeting criteria for hypertension.

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Background: Multidisciplinary care of placenta accreta spectrum cases improves pregnancy outcomes, but the specific components of such a multidisciplinary collaboration varies between institutions. As experience with placenta accreta spectrum increases, it is crucial to assess new surgical techniques and protocols to help improve maternal outcomes and to advocate for hospital resources.

Objective: This study aimed to assess a novel multidisciplinary protocol for the treatment of placenta accreta spectrum that comprises cesarean delivery, multivessel uterine embolization, and hysterectomy in a single procedure within a hybrid operative suite.

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Objective: This study aimed to describe the response of labor and delivery (L&D) units in the United States to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and determine how institutional characteristics and regional disease prevalence affect viral testing and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Study Design: A cross-sectional survey was distributed electronically through the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine e-mail database ( = 584 distinct practices) and social media between April 14 and 23, 2020. Participants were recruited through "snowballing.

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Development of effective prevention and treatment strategies for pre-eclampsia is limited by the lack of accurate methods for identification of at-risk pregnancies. We performed small RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of maternal serum extracellular RNAs (exRNAs) to discover and verify microRNAs (miRNAs) differentially expressed in patients who later developed pre-eclampsia. Sera collected from 73 pre-eclampsia cases and 139 controls between 17 and 28 weeks gestational age (GA), divided into separate discovery and verification cohorts, are analyzed by small RNA-seq.

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Objectives: We hypothesized that: (1) fetal frontal horn (FH) morphology and their proximity to the cavum septi pellucidi (CSP) can assist in suspecting complete agenesis of the corpus callosum (cACC) and partial agenesis of the corpus callosum (pACC) earlier than known indirect ultrasound (US) findings; (2) FHs assist in differentiating a true CSP from a pseudocavum; and (3) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is useful in learning FH morphology and pseudocavum etiology.

Methods: Thirty-two patients with cACC and 9 with pACC were identified on an Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective review. Of the 41 cases, 40 had prenatal US, and 21 had prenatal MRI; 17 had follow-up neonatal US, and 14 had follow-up neonatal MRI.

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Purpose: To describe the multidisciplinary approaches to placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) across five tertiary care centers that comprise the University of California fetal Consortium (UCfC) and to identify potential best practices.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective review of all cases of pathologically confirmed invasive placenta delivered from 2009 to 2014 at UCfC. Differences in intraoperative management and outcomes based on prenatal suspicion were compared.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Whole-exome sequencing of a female fetus identified a variant in an X-linked gene linked to intellectual disability and specific malformations in females.
  • - The isolated agenesis of the corpus callosum in this case is unusual and hasn't been previously connected to this genetic variant.
  • - Finding this variant influenced medical management decisions for the ongoing pregnancy.
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Background: Treating women with gestational diabetes mellitus in the third trimester improves perinatal outcomes. It is unknown whether treating women with mild glucose intolerance earlier in pregnancy would be beneficial in the reduction of maternal and neonatal morbidities.

Objective: In women with hyperglycemia (hemoglobin A1c ≥5.

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We hypothesized that women with a positive antenatal Edinburgh Depression Screen (EPDS) (≥10), undergoing behavioral or pharmacologic therapy have improved maternal and neonatal outcomes. This is a retrospective study of singleton pregnancies at UC, San Diego from 2010 to 2014. Patients with an antenatal EPDS were subdivided based on their intervention: negative score, positive score no treatment, behavioral therapy only, and pharmacologic therapy.

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