We measured the microviscosity of amniotic fluid between 28 and 40 weeks of gestation in 252 normal pregnancies and in 172 pregnancies complicated by factors known to influence fetal lung maturation, including chronic high blood pressure, pregnancy-induced hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and therapy with betamethasone. Comparison of the microviscosity value distributions and regression analysi...

Methods A retrospective analysis of 961 pregnancies with PAPP-A < 0. 3 MoM and 961 age-matched controls with PAPP-A level 0. 9-1. 1 MoM. The study period was a four years (2009-2012). The FTS was performed according to the guidelines of Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The gestational age was estimated by the fetal crown-rump length and the NT measurement was performed according t...

Preeclampsia is an idiopathic multisystem disorder specific to human pregnancy and the puerperium. More precisely, it is a disease of the placenta, because it has also been described in pregnancies where there is trophoblast but no fetal tissue (complete molar pregnancies). Although the pathophysiology of preeclampsia is poorly understood, it is clear that the blueprint for its development is l...

BACKGROUND The foetal aortic Doppler frequency spectrum is influenced by cardiac output and contractility of the foetal heart as well as vascular compliance, blood viscosity and impedance of the arterial vascular system. The present study aimed at comparing Doppler flow pulsatility (PI) and resistance (RI) indexes of foetal proximal descending aorta (AoF) in the first, second and third trimeste...

Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that affects 3-5% of all pregnancies. There is evidence to suggest that epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, play a role in placental development and function. This study compared DNA methylation profiles of placentas from preeclampsia-affected pregnancies with placentas from healthy pregnancies to identify gene-specific changes in...

High blood pressure complicates about 10% of all pregnancies and its incidence is high in nulliparous women and during multiple pregnancies (1). Preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, is a major cause of neonatal deaths and is associated with fetal growth retardation (2). Th is disease, which aff ects 7%-10% of pregnant women, manifests itself as hypertension, proteinuria, and edem...

Preeclampsia is a disease associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity during pregnancy and in later life. This study was designed to evaluate cardiac function and remodeling in preeclampsia occurring at term. This was a prospective case–control study of 50 term preeclampsia and 50 normal pregnancies assessed by echocardiography and tissue Doppler analysis. Global diastolic dysfunction ...

Preeclampsia is a disease associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity during pregnancy and in later life. This study was designed to evaluate cardiac function and remodeling in preeclampsia occurring at term. This was a prospective case-control study of 50 term preeclampsia and 50 normal pregnancies assessed by echocardiography and tissue Doppler analysis. Global diastolic dysfunction ...

Defective placentation and subsequent placental insufficiency lead to maternal and fetal adverse pregnancy outcome, but their pathologic mechanisms are unclear, and treatment remains elusive. The mildly hypertensive BPH/5 mouse recapitulates many features of human adverse pregnancy outcome, with pregnancies characterized by fetal loss, growth restriction, abnormal placental development, and def...

While obesity is an indicated risk factor for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, smoking during pregnancy has been shown to be inversely associated with the development of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined effects of high body mass index and smoking on hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. This was a case-control study base...