Ligamentous laxity in children with achondroplasia: Prevalence, joint involvement, and implications for early intervention strategies.

Achondroplasia (ACH), the most common form of skeletal dysplasia, is characterized by severe disproportionate short stature, rhizomelia, exaggerated lumbar lordosis, brachydactyly, macrocephaly with frontal bossing and midface hypoplasia. Ligamentous laxity has been reported as a striking feature of ACH, but its prevalence and characteristics have not been systematically evaluated yet. There is growing evidence that ligamentous laxity can be associated with chronic musculoskeletal problems and may affect motor development leading to abnormal developmental trajectories.

Longitudinal Motor Functional Outcomes and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Patterns of Muscle Involvement in Upper Limbs in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

: The aim of this study was to evaluate longitudinal changes using both upper limb muscle Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) at shoulder, arm and forearm levels and Performance of upper limb (PUL) in ambulant and non-ambulant Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) patients. We also wished to define whether baseline muscle MRI could help to predict functional changes after one year. : Twenty-seven patients had both baseline and 12month muscle MRI and PUL assessments one year later.

Measuring coping in pregnant minority women.

Coping strategies may help explain why some minority women experience more stress and poorer birth outcomes, so a psychometrically sound instrument to assess coping is needed. We examined the psychometric properties, readability, and correlates of coping in pregnant Black (n = 186) and Hispanic (n = 220) women using the Brief COPE. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis tested psychometric properties.

Acculturation and biobehavioral profiles in pregnant women of Hispanic origin: generational differences.

In Hispanics, acculturation may lead to negative health outcomes. This study used a cross-sectional design to investigate the psychosocial and biological risks in acculturating pregnant women of Hispanic origin (n = 470). Psychosocial risks-depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress-were assessed by self-report, whereas biological measures included stress-related and reproductive hormones.

Relationships among maternal nutrient intake and placental biomarkers during the 1st trimester in low-income women.

Purpose: Pre-eclampsia is a multi-system disorder caused by inadequate placentation in early pregnancy; however, little is known about the influence of nutrient intake on placental development during the crucial 1st trimester. The objective of this study was to examine the relationships between nutrient intake and the raw values and ratios of angiogenic [placental growth factor (PlGF)] and antiangiogenic [soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and soluble endoglin (sEng)] placental biomarkers in the 1st trimester.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of low-income, pregnant women (n = 118).

Predictors of dietary quality in low-income pregnant women: a path analysis.

Background: Despite the potential importance of nutrition to pregnancy outcomes, little is known about the factors influencing dietary quality, especially during the first trimester.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships of distress (an index of depression and stress), social support, and eating habits with dietary quality in low-income pregnant women.

Method: A cross-sectional design and path analytic methods was used in a clinic-based sample of low-income women (n = 118) in their first trimester of pregnancy.

Maternal corticotropin-releasing hormone and the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors independently predict the occurrence of preterm birth.

Introduction: Studies support the premise that chronic maternal stress may trigger a premature sequence of physiologic events ending in preterm birth (PTB). Furthermore, chronic stress is highly correlated with depression and anxiety, which also are associated with PTB. However, some studies report that medication status rather than depression and/or anxiety may reflect the risk for PTB.

Maternal coping style and perceived adequacy of income predict CRH levels at 14-20 weeks of gestation.

Objective: This exploratory study examines the role of psychosocial-behavioral variables as predictors of elevated corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) at 14-20 weeks of gestation.

Method: One hundred and twenty women were enrolled into the study. Blood samples were collected at 14-20 weeks of pregnancy and assayed for CRH.

Exploring relationships among psychosocial status, dietary quality, and measures of placental development during the first trimester in low-income women.

Purpose: To examine the relationships between maternal psychosocial factors and dietary quality and explore the relationships among dietary quality and selected biomarkers of nutrition and placental development.

Method: A cross-sectional design in 18 low-income, pregnant women.

Results: Partner support was positively related to vegetable intake (r = .

Bioassay research methodology: measuring CRH in pregnancy.

Background: There are documented associations between elevated maternal corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) levels and adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, reports of these findings often lack sufficient detail and rationale regarding the bioassay methodology. This shortcoming can be problematic for researchers who do not possess in-depth laboratory sciences knowledge but who want to include bioassays in their investigations or to evaluate published reports.

The interrelationship of maternal stress, endocrine factors and inflammation on gestational length.

Preterm birth rates continue to rise in the United States despite the advent of tocolytic agents and the identification of risk factors for preterm birth, such as vaginal infection and a shortened cervix. Although improvement in gestational-age-related survival of preterm infants has occurred as a result of the use of antenatal corticosteroids, neonatal surfactant therapy, and regionalization of perinatal care, there has been no reduction in the incidence of preterm birth. Recently, investigators have appreciated that the etiology of preterm birth is heterogeneous, perhaps accounting for one reason for the failure of current interventions to improve pregnancy outcome.