Increased concentrations of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha have been associated with parturition. However, the role of these cytokines is unknown. Before parturition, the uterus undergoes a process of activation, during which there are significant changes in expression of genes associated with increased uterine contractility, including the receptors for oxytocin (OT) and prostaglandin (PG)F(2alpha) (FP...

BACKGROUND Citrus aurantium is a small citrus tree, with scented white flowers. The C. aurantium is used in Asian herbal medicine primarily to treat digestive problems. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study is to investigate the effect of C. aurantium flower's aqueous extract on uterine contraction in presence of some known uterus stimulants. MATERIALS AND METHODS In experimental study 30 virgin...

Throughout most of pregnancy, uterine quiescence is maintained by increased progesterone receptor (PR) transcriptional activity, whereas spontaneous labor is initiated/facilitated by a concerted series of biochemical events that activate inflammatory pathways and have a negative impact on PR function. In this study, we uncovered a previously undescribed regulatory pathway whereby micro-RNAs (mi...

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between contraction related changes in fetal heart rate and cerebral oxygenation measured by near-infrared spectroscopy during labour. STUDY DESIGN A specially designed optical probe was inserted through the dilated cervix and placed against the fetal head in 30 women during labour. Alterations in fetal heart rate during the final hour of the first stag...

BACKGROUND The transient effects of epidural bupivacaine 0.25-0.5% on the Doppler velocimetry of umbilical and uterine arteries had been reported, but the effects of continuous lower dose epidural bupivacaine (0.05-0.1%) infusion for labour analgesia have never been reported. In this study, we evaluated the effects of continuous epidural bupivacaine 0.075% on the Doppler velocimetry of uterine ...

OBJECTIVE Evaluate obstetric characteristics during the last two hours of labor in neonates born with acidemia. DESIGN Case-control study. SETTING Delivery units at two university hospitals in Sweden. STUDY POPULATION Out of 28,486 deliveries during 1994-2004, 305 neonates had an umbilical artery pH value <7.05 at birth. METHODS CASES neonates with an umbilical artery pH < 7.05. Cont...

Maturation of the fetal pituitary and adrenal glands allows the secretion of cortisol, which in turn leads to an increase in prostaglandin and mesotocin production. The production of prostaglandin and mesotocin results in an increase in uterine contractions and initiates birth in marsupials. The major metabolite of PGF(2alpha), 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGFM), has been foun...

The molecular mechanisms involved in uterine quiescence during gestation and those responsible for induction of labor are not completely known. Nitric oxide relaxes uterine smooth muscle in a manner disparate from that for other smooth muscles because global elevation of cGMP after activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase does not relax the muscle. S-Nitrosylation, the covalent addition of an nit...

Pregnancy loss is a serious social and medical issue, with one important cause associated with aberrant embryo implantation during early pregnancy. However, whether and how the process of embryo implantation is affected by environmental factors such as stress-induced sympathetic activation remained elusive. Here we report an unexpected, transient effect of β(2)-adrenoreceptor (β(2)-AR) activati...

Uterine contractile activity in nonpregnant conscious dogs was investigated based on 2- to 6-mo-long continuous recording by means of a chronically implanted force transducer. We found that nonpregnant uterine contractile activity could be classified into six major patterns: sporadic contractions, weak and strong tonic contractions, weak and strong phasic contractions, and phasic contraction bu...