OBJECTIVE The present study evaluated the effects on gestation, in terms of oxidative stress, of two antioxidant factors-vitamin E and coenzyme Q10-during pregnancy, with the purpose of applying the results in further human clinical practice. METHODS For each aspect we have studied, we used three types of female rats of Wistar race (un-pregnant, primiparous, multiparous), divided in 10 rats/g...

In the present study, we investigated the in vitro effects of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) ligands on PGF2α secretion and mRNA expression of prostaglandin F synthase (PGFS) in porcine endometrial explants collected on days 10-12 and 14-16 of the estrous cycle or pregnancy. The explants were incubated for 6h with: PPARα ligands - WY-14643 (agonist) and MK 886 (antagonist); P...

Lipoxin A(4) is a lipid mediator that elicits anti-inflammatory and pro-resolution actions via its receptor, formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2/ALX). In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression and potential role of lipoxin A(4) and FPR2/ALX in the regulation of inflammation associated with cyclical remodeling of the human endometrium across the menstrual cycle and during early pregnancy...

Human trophoblast invasion and differentiation are essential for successful pregnancy outcome. The molecular mechanisms, however, are poorly understood. Interleukin (IL)-11, a cytokine, regulates endometrial epithelial cell adhesion. Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is one of the key cytokines in the embryo implantation regulation. The present study aimed to assess the levels of LIF, IL-11, and...

background: amniotic fluid is an indicator of placental function on the fetal development. the amniotic fluid index is the most commonly used method of measuring amniotic fluid. objective: the purpose of this study was to compare the pregnancy outcomes of a borderline versus normal afi. materials and methods: this cross-sectional study was carried out on a total of 235 pregnant women referred t...

Abstract Background Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) caused by P450 oxidoreductase deficiency (PORD) in 46, XX patients is characterized genital ambiguity, primary amenorrhea, absent or incomplete sexual maturation, infertility, skeletal malformations and so on. But few pregnancies have been reported from these female with PORD. Case description A 29-year-old Chinese woman PORD due to the c...

OBJECTIVE To assess maternal diet and nutritional adequacy prior to conception and during pregnancy. DESIGN Follow-up of a cohort of pregnant women with collection of questionnaire data throughout pregnancy and after delivery. SETTING Antenatal clinics at two public hospitals in Porto, Portugal. SUBJECTS Two hundred and forty-nine pregnant women who reported a gestational age below 13 wee...

Background: Because implantation failure is more frequent, many methods have been suggested to improve the implantation; however, their results have been inconsistent. One of the most hopeful methods is local endometrial injury. To explore the possibility that local injury of the endometrium increases the incidence of implantation and pregnancy rate in the subsequent IVF cycle in patients havin...

The present study evaluated the hypothesis that the effects of hypoxia on sheep pregnancies at high altitude (HA) are mediated by oxidative stress and that antioxidant vitamins may prevent these effects. Both HA native and newcomer ewes were maintained at an altitude of 3,589 m during mating and pregnancy. Control low altitude (LA) native ewes were maintained at sea level. Half of each group re...