Primary sclerosing cholangitis in pregnancy refractory to ursodeoxycholic acid treatment: a case report.

Background: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease associated with fibrosis and inflammation of the bile ducts. Its complications include symptoms from pruritis and fatigue to dominant strictures, cholangiocarcinoma and liver failure necessitating liver transplant. Due to its predominance in young males, little is reported regarding PSC and pregnancy.

Likelihood ratios for fetal trisomy 21 based on nasal bone length in the second trimester: how best to define hypoplasia?

Objective: To determine the best measure of fetal nasal bone hypoplasia for trisomy 21 risk assessment in the second trimester.

Methods: This was a prospective, observational study performed at a single institution between February 2003 and December 2005. Fetuses with nasal bone length recorded sonographically between 16 and 20.

Relationships between maternal plasma leptin, placental leptin mRNA and protein in normal pregnancy, pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction without pre-eclampsia.

Leptin, an adipocyte hormone involved in energy homeostasis, is important in reproduction and pregnancy. Questions yet to be addressed include the source of higher leptin during pregnancy and its relationship to pregnancy outcome and fetal growth. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between placental leptin gene expression, placental leptin protein concentration and maternal plasma leptin concentration among control pregnant women, women with pre-eclampsia and women with growth-restricted infants.

Placental system A transporter mRNA is not different in preeclampsia, normal pregnancy, or pregnancies with small-for-gestational-age infants.

Objective: System A amino acid transporter activity is reduced in placentas from small-for-gestational-age (SGA) compared to normal pregnancies. We compared the expression of the system A transporters between preeclamptic and control and between small-for-gestational-age and controls pregnancies.

Methods: We used placental samples from 18 preeclamptic pregnancies matched with 17 normal pregnancies and from 16 SGA pregnancies matched with 15 different normal pregnancies.

Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 is increased in preeclampsia but not in normotensive pregnancies with small-for-gestational-age neonates: relationship to circulating placental growth factor.

Context: An excess of the soluble receptor, fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) may contribute to maternal vascular dysfunction in women with preeclampsia by binding and thereby reducing concentrations of free vascular endothelial growth factor and placental growth factor (PlGF) in the circulation. The putative stimulus for increased sFlt-1 during preeclampsia, placental hypoxia due to poor perfusion, is common to both preeclampsia and idiopathic intrauterine growth restriction. However, the latter condition occurs without maternal vascular disease.