Introduction: Mice disrupted for the interleukin (IL)-18 gene appear more disposed to preterm delivery (PTD) induced by inflammation. A synergy between IL-18 and IL-12 has been suggested. The objective of this study was to investigate a possible relation between human maternal serum levels of IL-18, IL-12 and spontaneous PTD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Few studies have investigated the relationship between inflammation and spontaneous preterm delivery (sPTD) in women before preterm labour. The authors examine whether mid-pregnancy plasma cytokine levels are associated with sPTD, and whether associations vary by maternal age, body mass index, prior preterm delivery, or gravidity.
Methods: This case-control study was nested within the Danish National Birth Cohort, a cohort of women with 101,042 pregnancies from 1997 to 2002.
Few studies have assessed longitudinal changes in circulating cytokine levels during normal pregnancy. We have examined the natural history of maternal plasma cytokines from early- to mid-pregnancy in a large, longitudinal cohort. Multiplex flow cytometry was used to measure interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, IL-12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interferon (IFN)-gamma and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in early- (median [IQR]: 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This descriptive summary of the literature provides an overview of the available studies (published before October 2006) on sociodemographic, psychosocial, and other correlates of risk and protective behaviors for hearing loss in young people aged 12 to 25 years.
Methods: Publications were identified by a structured search in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science, and by scrutinizing the reference lists of relevant articles. The protection motivation theory was used as the theoretical framework for categorizing the psychosocial correlates.
The objective of this study is to examine TNF-alpha and its soluble and membrane bound receptors in fetal membranes derived from blacks and whites in response to in vitro infectious stimulus, and the balance between TNF-alpha and the receptors. Fetal membranes collected from black and white women at term were maintained in an organ explant system and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). TNF-alpha, soluble TNF receptors (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2) in culture media and membrane bound TNF receptors (TNFR1 and TNFR2) in tissue homogenates were measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInfect Dis Obstet Gynecol
August 2007
Objectives: the aim was to examine factors associated with acquisition and elimination of bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy.
Methods: a group of 229 pregnant women were randomly selected from a population-based prospective cohort study of 2927. They were examined at enrollment (mean gestational weeks 16w+0d) and again in mid-third trimester (mean gestational age 32w+3d).
This study aimed to analyze the associations between serum and cervicovaginal inflammatory markers and recurrent spontaneous preterm birth in a cohort study of 62 pregnant women with > or =1 prior early spontaneous birth. Serum samples and cervicovaginal swabs from the women were obtained at enrollment in early second trimester (week 12-25). Cervical length was measured by ultrasound and dicotomized in to short (< or =25 mm) and long cervices (>25 mm).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Potential associations between current or previous C. trachomatis infections (general IgG and serovars) and spontaneous preterm birth (PTB) were examined and associations between C. trachomatis infections and previous fertility problems were explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Spontaneous preterm birth (PTB) has a significant ethnic disparity with people of African descent having an almost 2-fold higher incidence than those of European descent in the United States. This disparity may be caused by differences in the distribution of genetic risk factors. The objective of this study is to examine genetic differences between African-Americans and European Americans for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in candidate genes for PTB.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Crohn's disease the optimal duration of azathioprine treatment is still controversial and for ulcerative colitis only limited data are available to support its efficacy. Charts of 1176 patients with IBD from 16 European centers were analyzed. Flare incidences and steroid dosages were assessed for the time before and during treatment and after discontinuation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Obstet Gynecol Scand
October 2006
Background: No larger population-based study of bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy has previously been available. The objective of this study was to examine risk factors for bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy.
Design: From a prospective population-based cohort of 3,596 eligible pregnant women, 2,927 (81.
Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand
August 2006
Objective: To examine associations of vaginal Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) and bacterial vaginosis (BV) with preterm delivery (PTD), small for gestational age (SGA), and low birth weight (LBW).
Material And Methods: A population-based, prospective cohort study of 2,927 pregnancies. After exclusion of multiples and antibiotic use sample size was 2,662.
Objective: We hypothesize that genetic variations (single nucleotide polymorphisms-SNPs) in the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), TNF receptors (TNFRI and TNFRII), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) genes predict high-risk status for spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) in European-American women. In this study we examine the allelic and genotypic variations and the gene-gene interactions in the TNF-alpha, TNFRs, IL-6, and IL-6R genes in maternal DNA samples by using a case-control model.
Study Design: Maternal DNA from cases of sPTB after preterm labor (n = 101) and controls (normal term labor and delivery) (n = 321) were genotyped for SNPs in the TNF-alpha (6), TNFRI (6), TNFRII (7), IL-6 (5), and IL-6R (3) loci.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum concentrations of relaxin and soluble CD163 with cervical length and preterm delivery in women with previous spontaneous preterm delivery.
Study Design: Sixty-one of 69 pregnant women with a previous spontaneous preterm had serum relaxin and soluble CD163 measured at week 16 (range, 12-25 weeks). End points were cervical length and gestational age at delivery.
Objectives: To analyse trends in preterm delivery and the factors contributing to preterm delivery in Denmark. To construct a standard population at low risk (white European, 20-40 years of age, with a singleton spontaneous pregnancy) and describe the changes in this population so that time trends can be compared internationally.
Design: Population based study.
Objective: To analyze the association between bacterial vaginosis (BV) in early pregnancy and preterm birth, low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age (SGA) in a Danish population.
Methods: A geographically defined population-based prospective study of Danish-speaking pregnant women over18 years of age enrolled before week 24 and followed until delivery. BV was diagnosed by Amsel's clinical criteria at enrolment.
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol
January 2007
Objective: To examine serum relaxin as a predictor of spontaneous preterm delivery.
Study Design: A prospective study of 2846 women with singleton pregnancies, from which a matched case-control study (84 cases of spontaneous preterm delivery before 37 weeks gestation and 175 controls) and a cohort (84 preterm and 399 term deliveries) were extracted.
Results: In the women with a subsequent preterm delivery the relaxin level decreased by 0.
Purpose: This prospective study evaluates the diagnostic potential of Cytokeratin 20 (CK 20) RT-PCR for the detection of disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow and blood of a large cohort of patients with ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas and the prognostic value on overall survival prediction.
Methods: Between 1994 and 2003, 172 patients (83 male, 89 female; 13-82 years) with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma underwent surgery. Bone marrow samples and venous blood were taken preoperatively and analyzed for disseminated tumor cells by nested CK 20 RT-PCR.
Langenbecks Arch Surg
September 2005
Introduction: Metastatic dissemination is an important factor for the prognosis of patients with gastro-intestinal cancer. Exact staging is crucial to determine appropriate multimodal therapeutic strategies. At present, the sensitivity of routinely performed diagnostic techniques is suboptimal for the detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) and occult metastases since the number of disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) is mostly marginal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate whether soluble CD163 (sCD163) and C-reactive protein (CRP) can predict spontaneous preterm delivery in women with symptoms of preterm delivery.
Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting Labour ward at a tertiary university hospital.
This structured review discusses the current literature on selected biomarkers and their ability to predict preterm delivery (PTD). Among symptomatic women, the likelihood ratio (LR+) for the prediction of PTD was found to be greater than 10 using amniotic fluid (AF) interleukin-6 (IL-6), AF Ureaplasma urealyticum, as well as a multi-marker consisting of cervical IL-6, cervical IL-8, and cervical length (CL). The LR+ was found to be between 5 and 10 for serum C-reactive protein (CRP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Relaxin has been proposed as a hormone involved in the collagen remodeling of the utero-placental unit.
Materials And Methods: Human fetal membrane explants were incubated with H1 or H2 relaxin for 48 hours and stretched until rupture in a materials testing machine. Co-incubation with a synthetic collagenase inhibitor was performed in order to examine whether the effects of relaxin could be inhibited.
Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol
March 2004
In vitro studies have documented effects of relaxin on utero-placental tissues. Previously unpublished experiments indicate that neomycin and amphotericin B in vitro influences the effect of human relaxin-2 on the strength of human foetal membranes. The aim of the current study was to investigate the interaction between neomycin and amphotericin B and human relaxin-2 using human foetal membranes, human myometrium and rat myometrium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To examine vaginal insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1) as a marker of preterm delivery, amniotic fluid leakage or vaginal infection.
Materials And Methods: The material consisted of a nested case-control study (67 with idiopathic preterm delivery and 406 randomly selected women with term deliveries) from a prospective cohort of 2,846 women.
Results: Vaginal npIGFBP-1 was weakly associated with preterm delivery.