Altered offspring neurodevelopment in an L-NAME-induced preeclampsia rat model.

Introduction: To investigate the mechanism underlying the increased risk of subsequent neurodevelopmental disorders in children born to mothers with preeclampsia, we evaluated the neurodevelopment of offspring of a preeclampsia rat model induced by the administration of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and identified unique protein signatures in the offspring cerebrospinal fluid.

Methods: Pregnant rats received an intraperitoneal injection of L-NAME (250 mg/kg/day) during gestational days 15-20 to establish a preeclampsia model. Behavioral experiments (negative geotaxis, open-field, rotarod treadmill, and active avoidance tests), immunohistochemistry [anti-neuronal nuclei (NeuN) staining in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and cerebral cortex on postnatal day 70], and proteome analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid on postnatal day 5 were performed on male offspring.

New-onset postpartum hypertension in women without a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a multicenter study in Japan.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of new-onset postpartum hypertension (PPHTN), defined as new-onset hypertension during the postpartum period, among women without a history of hypertension during pregnancy and labor. A multicenter retrospective study was conducted using clinical data of women who delivered at term between 2011 and 2018 at 12 maternity hospitals. A total of 18,295 normotensive women were eligible, after excluding those with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy or hypertension during labor.

Evaluating glucose variability through OGTT in early pregnancy and its association with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in non-diabetic pregnancies: a large-scale multi-center retrospective study.

Background: Recent evidence suggests increased glucose variability (GV) causes endothelial dysfunction, a central pathology of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). We aimed to investigate the association between GV in early pregnancy and subsequent HDP development among non-diabetes mellitus (DM) pregnancies.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective study used data from singleton pregnancies between 2009 and 2019.

Intrauterine exposure to chorioamnionitis and neuroanatomical alterations at term-equivalent age in preterm infants.

Purpose: Infants born to mothers with chorioamnionitis (CAM) are at increased risk of developing adverse neurodevelopmental disorders in later life. However, clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies examining brain injuries and neuroanatomical alterations attributed to CAM have yielded inconsistent results. We aimed to determine whether exposure to histological CAM in utero leads to brain injuries and alterations in the neuroanatomy of preterm infants using 3.

Antenatal corticosteroids-to-delivery interval associates cord blood S100B levels.

Aim: Antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) are recommended for women at risk of preterm birth before 34 weeks' gestation. However, adverse effects of ACS on the fetal brain have also been reported. The time interval from ACS administration to delivery (ACS-to-delivery interval) might alter the effect of ACS on the fetal brain.

Clinical significances of Bishop score and vaginal bleeding to controlled-release dinoprostone delivery system (PROPESS) efficacy for cervical ripening: A retrospective single-center study in Japan.

Aims: To evaluate the effect of vaginal bleeding on the efficacy of controlled-release dinoprostone delivery system (PROPESS) for cervical ripening and the factors affecting the PROPESS efficacy in a Japanese clinical setting.

Methods: A total of 100 term pregnant women in whom PROPESS was used due to an unfavorable cervix (Bishop score ≤ 6) were enrolled. We retrospectively investigated which factors, including vaginal bleeding, were associated with the success of cervical ripening using logistic regression analysis.

[On-pump Beating Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery Valve Plasty for Infective Endocarditis Located in the Tricuspid Valve:Report of a Case].

The patient is a 50-year-old man. He was healthy by nature, had fever in the 38 ℃ range for about a week, blood culture identified methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus( MSSA), and ultrasoundcardiography(UCG) showed a 10 mm vegetation adherent to the tricuspid valve, which led to the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. The patient was transferred to our hospital for surgery because UCG showed severe tricuspid regurgitation and the vegetation enlarged to 20 mm in size.

Antenatal prediction models for outcomes of extremely and very preterm infants based on machine learning.

Purpose: Predicting individual risks for adverse outcomes in preterm infants is necessary for perinatal management and antenatal counseling for their parents. To evaluate whether a machine learning approach can improve the prediction of severe infant outcomes beyond the performance of conventional logistic models, and to identify maternal and fetal factors that largely contribute to these outcomes.

Methods: A population-based retrospective study was performed using clinical data of 31,157 infants born at < 32 weeks of gestation and weighing ≤ 1500 g, registered in the Neonatal Research Network of Japan between 2006 and 2015.

A case of non-immune hydrops fetalis with maternal mirror syndrome diagnosed by trio-based exome sequencing: An autopsy case report and literature review.

Non-immune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) indicates the risk for stillbirth. Although the causes vary and most NIHFs have no identifiable cause, recent advances in exome sequencing have increased diagnostic rates. We report a case of NIHF that developed into a giant cystic hygroma complicated by maternal mirror syndrome.

5p deletion with congenital diaphragmatic hernia: a case report.

Background: 5p deletion syndrome is known as cri-du-chat syndrome, but there are no reports on congenital diaphragmatic hernia complications associated with it.

Case Presentation: A 28-year-old primigravida Japanese woman was referred for 5 mm of nuchal translucency. Fetal growth restriction was found at 20 weeks, and a left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia was diagnosed at 24 weeks.

Severe Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia With Trisomy 9: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is known to be complicated with various chromosomal abnormalities. However, the grade of pulmonary hypoplasia of CDH complicated by trisomy 9 is not known. This information is essential to the mother who has had a fetus with the same complication.

Molecular hydrogen has a positive impact on pregnancy maintenance through enhancement of mitochondrial function and immunomodulatory effects on T cells.

Aims: Molecular hydrogen (H) has attracted growing interest because of its implications in various diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the remarkable effect of a small amount of H remain elusive. No knowledge has been available on the role of H in the etiology of pregnancy disorders or its direct influence on human immune cells.

Impact of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy on respiratory outcomes in extremely and very preterm infants: A population-based study in Japan.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the impact of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) on short- and medium-term respiratory outcomes in extremely and very preterm infants using the Neonatal Research Network of Japan database.

Study Design: This was a population-based retrospective study of preterm infants weighing ≤ 1500 g born between 22 and 31 weeks of gestation between 2003 and 2017. After 1:1 stratification matching by four factors (maternal age, gestational age, parity, and year of delivery), a total of 5137 infants in each group (HDP and non-HDP groups) were selected.

The Possible Effects of Zinc Supplementation on Postpartum Depression and Anemia.

The effects of postpartum zinc supplementation are still unclear. Our purpose in this study is to investigate the association between Zn supplementation and postpartum depression, defined by an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score ≥ 9, and the effect on the hematological status of postpartum women. We first investigated whether zinc supplementation affected the perioperative levels of zinc, hemoglobin, and hematocrit in 197 cases who underwent cesarean section and had postpartum anemia.

Intrauterine exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and postnatal growth in extremely and very preterm infants.

Objectives: There is growing evidence regarding the association between rapid growth during infancy and metabolic and cardiovascular diseases later in life. We aimed to evaluate postnatal growth trajectories in extremely and very preterm infants exposed to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) in utero.

Study Design: This multicenter retrospective study used a nationwide database of preterm infants weighing ≤1,500 g born between 22 and 31 weeks of gestation between 2003 and 2015.

Effect of nadir hematocrit during cardiopulmonary bypass on the early outcomes after surgical repair of acute type A aortic dissection.

Objective: Although hemodilution during hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) had been thought to improve microcirculation and reduce blood viscosity, there has been no report investigating the effect of low nadir hematocrit (Hct) values caused by severe hemodilution on the surgical outcomes of patients with acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 112 consecutive patients who emergently underwent emergency surgical repair of ATAAD at our institution. The patients were classified into the high Hct (nadir Hct ≥ 21% during CPB; n = 51) and low Hct (nadir Hct < 21% during CPB; n = 61) groups.

Reassessing the duration of each stage of labor and their relation to postpartum hemorrhage in the current Japanese population.

Aim: To reassess the normal duration of each stage of labor in a contemporary Japanese cohort, and to determine whether prolongation of each stage of labor increases the rate of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) in vaginal deliveries.

Methods: Clinical data of women who delivered at term at 12 facilities between 2012 and 2018 were retrospectively collected. A total of 31 758 women were subdivided into three or four subgroups according to the duration of each stage of labor and parity.

Machine learning prediction models for postpartum depression: A multicenter study in Japan.

Aim: Postpartum depression (PPD) and perinatal mental health care are of growing importance worldwide. Here we aimed to develop and validate machine learning models for the prediction of PPD, and to evaluate the usefulness of the recently adopted 2-week postpartum checkup in some parts of Japan for the identification of women at high risk of PPD.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted using the clinical data of 10 013 women who delivered at ≥35 weeks of gestation at 12 maternity care hospitals in Japan.

Aortic Agatston score correlates with the progression of acute type A aortic dissection.

Aortic calcification in the tunica media is correlated with aortic stiffness, elastin degradation, and wall shear stress. The study aim was to determine if aortic calcifications influence disease progression in patients with acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD). We retrospectively reviewed a total of 103 consecutive patients who had undergone surgery for ATAAD at our institution between January 2009 and December 2019.

Prevalence and risk factors of labor-onset hypertension: A multicenter study in Japan.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of labor-onset hypertension (LOH), defined as hypertension first detected during labor among women without hypertension prior to admission for labor.

Study Design: In this multicenter retrospective study, clinical data of women who delivered vaginally at term between 2012 and 2018 were collected from 12 primary maternity care units. Blood pressure was measured at five time points from admission to 2 h postpartum in a total of 30,129 normotensive women at the last prenatal check-up.

[Revascularization of the Right Common Carotid Artery Prior to Central Repair for Stanford Type A Acute Aortic Dissection with Brain Malperfusion:Report of a Case].

A 67-year-old woman had sudden loss of consciousness and chest and back pain. She was transported by ambulance about two hours later. Computed tomography (CT) showed dissection of the aorta, the brachiocephalic artery and the right common carotid artery (RCCA).

Preference or flexibility? Spatial navigation by Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) in a multiple-cue environment.

We investigated if and how Syrian hamsters () show flexibility in their use of multiple sources of information in a spatial learning task. In Experiment 1, hamsters were trained to exit an arena through one of three doors. The goal, marked by a beacon, was fixed during the training phase.