IGF-1 LR3 Does Not Promote Growth in Late Gestation Growth Restricted Fetal Sheep.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin are important fetal anabolic hormones. Complications of pregnancy, such as placental insufficiency, can lead to fetal growth restriction FGR) with low circulating IGF-1 and insulin concentrations and attenuated glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), which likely contribute to neonatal glucose dysregulation. We previously demonstrated that a one-week infusion of IGF-1 LR3, an IGF-1 analog with low affinity for IGF binding proteins and high affinity for the IGF-1 receptor, at 6.

Atopic dermatitis and the outcomes of pregnancy and offspring: A nationwide population-based study in Taiwan.

Background And Objectives: Studies have identified increased risks of pregnancy complications in expectant mothers with atopic dermatitis (AD). However, the associations between maternal AD and adverse pregnancy or offspring outcomes in Asians remain unexplored. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between maternal AD and adverse pregnancy and offspring outcomes in Taiwan.

Risk Factors, Associations, and Outcomes of Reduced Fetal Movements: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study at Port Sudan Maternity Hospital.

Background: Reduced fetal movements (RFM) are a significant concern in obstetric care. They often indicate fetal distress and are associated with adverse perinatal outcomes such as stillbirth and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). While RFM is recognized as a critical marker of fetal well-being, there is a limit to the data available on its risk factors and outcomes in the Port Sudan region.

Effects of gestational intermittent hypoxia on the respiratory system: A tale of the placenta, fetus, and developing offspring.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder that is associated with a wide variety of health conditions, including cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, metabolic, neoplastic, and neurocognitive manifestations. OSA, as a chronic condition, is mainly characterised by repeated upper airway obstructions during sleep that cause episodes of intermittent hypoxia (IH), resulting in tissue hypoxia-reoxygenation cycles. Decreased arterial oxygen pressure (PaO) and haemoglobin saturation (SatO) stimulate reflex responses to overcome the obstruction.

Associations between adverse pregnancy outcomes and cognitive impairment and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Individuals with adverse pregnancy outcomes have an increased risk of cerebrovascular disease, but the association between adverse pregnancy outcomes and cognitive impairment and dementia is less well established. We aimed to synthesise, combine, and assess the growing body of data examining the associations between adverse pregnancy outcomes and mild cognitive impairment and dementia in parous women.

Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science, and Embase from database inception up to July 18, 2024, with no language restrictions, for observational studies or clinical trials that reported mild cognitive impairment or dementia as outcomes and included female individuals or women who had an adverse pregnancy outcome, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, stillbirth, fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, or placental abruption.

Co-developing sleep-wake and sensory foundations for cognition in the human fetus and newborn.

In older children and adults, cognition builds upon waking sensory experience which is consolidated during sleep. In the fetus and newborn, sensory input is instead largely experienced during sleep. The nature of these sensory inputs differs within sleep, between active and quiet sleep, as well as versus wakefulness.

Gestational hypercholanemia suppresses pregnancy-associated adipose mass increase and stimulates a pro-inflammatory environment in mice.

Women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) have hypercholanemia alongside an increased risk of dyslipidemia. We investigated how cholic acid (CA) supplementation in murine pregnancy impacts adipose tissue function. Mice were fed normal or 0.

Decoding the molecular pathways governing trophoblast migration and placental development; a literature review.

Placental development is a multifaceted process critical for a fruitful pregnancy, reinforced by a complex network of molecular pathways that synchronize trophoblast migration, differentiation, and overall placental function. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the key signaling pathways, such as Wnt, Notch, TGF-β, and VEGF, which play fundamental roles in trophoblast proliferation, invasion, and the complicated process of placental vascular development. For instance, the Wnt signaling pathway is essential to balance trophoblast stem cell proliferation and differentiation, while Notch signaling stimulates cell fate decisions and invasive behavior.

Early postnatal transitional circulation in fetal growth restricted neonates.

Background: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) may impact early postnatal transitional circulation.

Aim: Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular cardiac output, superior vena cava (SVC) and ductus venosus (DV) blood flow in FGR neonates first three days after birth.

Study Design: Prospective observational study.

Fetomaternal outcome in preeclampsia and eclampsia with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome.

Introduction: Preeclampsia and eclampsia are hypertensive disorders of pregnancy associated with significant maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a neurological complication observed in these conditions, yet its impact on fetomaternal outcomes remains underexplored. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between PRES and fetomaternal outcomes in women with preeclampsia and eclampsia.

Cesarean Section Trends and Associated Factors at a Tertiary Care Center in India: A Retrospective Study.

Background Cesarean section (CS) is one of the most common surgical procedures performed on women globally, and its prevalence has been rising significantly over the past few decades. CS rates have been increasing globally, raising public health concerns due to the associated financial burden and increased health risks compared to vaginal delivery. Methodology This study involves a retrospective analysis of delivery records from a tertiary care hospital in Uttar Pradesh, India, over 10 years, from January 2011 to December 2021.

Association Between Placental Pathology and Early-Onset Fetal Growth Restriction: A Systematic Review.

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is defined as the failure of the fetus to achieve its genetically determined growth potential. Our aim is to compare the placental lesions present in early-onset fetal growth restriction with that of late-onset FGR. We performed a systematic review according to the PRISMA guideline.

Efficacy of combining aspirin with hydroxychloroquine in pregnancies at high risk for pre-eclampsia: a prospective, multicentre, open-label, single-arm clinical trial, investigator-initiated study (HUGS study).

Introduction: The use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) during pregnancies complicated by systemic lupus erythematosus or refractory antiphospholipid antibody syndrome has demonstrated a significant ability to prevent pre-eclampsia (PE). As such, the potential for the administration of HCQ to prevent PE in other high-risk pregnancies is an important clinical research agenda among maternal and fetal medicine specialists. Mechanistically, the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of HCQ can offer vascular protection and inhibit the placental dysfunction-associated thrombotic changes underlying the pathophysiology of PE, fetal growth restriction (FGR) and fetal death in utero (FDIU).

Impaired maternal central hemodynamics precede the onset of vascular disorders of pregnancy at high altitude.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy represent an escalating global health concern with increasing incidence in low- to middle-income countries and high-income countries alike. The current lack of methods to detect the subclinical stages of preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR), two common vascular disorders of pregnancy, limits treatment options to minimize acute- and long-term adverse outcomes for both mother and child. To determine whether impaired maternal cardiovascular or uteroplacental vascular function precedes the onset of PE and/or FGR (PE-FGR), we used non-invasive techniques to obtain serial measurements of maternal cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), systemic vascular resistance (SVR), as well as uterine and fetal arterial resistance at gestational weeks 10-16, 20-24 and 30-34 for 79 maternal-infant pairs in La Paz-El Alto, Bolivia (3850 m), where the chronic hypoxia of high altitude increases the incidence of PE and FGR.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide induces metabolic rewiring of human-derived cytotrophoblast cells to promote cell migration.

The placenta has an extraordinary metabolic rate with high oxygen consumption. Extravillous cytotrophoblast cells (EVT) metabolism and function are critical to sustain their invasive phenotype supporting fetal development. Deficient EVT function underlies pregnancy complications as preeclampsia (PE) and fetal growth restriction (FGR).

The effect of haemoglobin and blood transfusion on preterm infant gut perfusion and injury.

Introduction: There is significant uncertainty regarding the role that anaemia or red blood cell transfusion (RBCT) plays in the development of gut injury in preterm infants. This study evaluated Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) together with a range of known biomarkers of gut inflammation to identify their relationship with anaemia and RBCT.

Method: A prospective observational study of preterm infants born at <30 weeks gestation was conducted from birth until either 36 weeks post conceptional age or discharge home.

Effects of sildenafil treatment on placental immune cell subsets in early-onset fetal growth restriction.

Introduction: Early onset fetal growth restriction is a common pregnancy complication with significant risk of perinatal mortality and morbidity. The most common etiology is placental insufficiency, reflected by several placental lesions that appear with fetal growth restriction. Placental immune cells are involved in almost all aspects of the development of the placenta and immune cell imbalances have been related to common pregnancy complications.

Ischemic Placental Disease: Epidemiology and Impact on Maternal and Offspring Health Along the Life Course.

Ischemic placental disease (IPD) is a constellation of obstetrical complications that include preeclampsia, placental abruption, and fetal growth restriction and affects 12% to 15% of pregnancies. The unifying pathophysiological mechanism that precedes all 3 complications is uteroplacental ischemia as a consequence of inadequate (or failure of) physiological transformation of the maternal uterine spiral arteries, endothelial cell dysfunction, and increased oxidative stress. This review summarizes the IPD literature, focusing on the epidemiology and risk factors, the effects of IPD on short and long-term maternal complications, and the association of IPD with perinatal, childhood, and long-term complications in offspring.

Pregnancy with mixed connective tissue disease: Exploration of factors influencing live birth outcomes.

Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) predominantly affects women in their reproductive age (30-40 years). This study is aimed to analyze a case series of MCTD-complicated pregnancies. The study design utilized a combined case-series and case-control approach.

The role of persistent right umbilical vein in the diagnosis of fetal genetic syndromes.

Introduction: Persistent right umbilical vein (PRUV) is an embryonic vascular abnormality. Recent studies suggested that the perinatal outcome was good and the risk of aneuploidy was low in isolated forms. Our purpose in this study was to assess the relation of PRUV with genetic abnormalities and demonstrate concomitant malformations and perinatal outcomes of these fetuses.