AIM To determine the influence of placental malaria, maternal HIV infection, and maternal hypergammaglobulinaemia on transplacental IgG antibody transfer. METHODS One hundred and eighty materno-neonatal pairs from a Malawian population were assessed. Cord and maternal serum samples were tested for total serum IgG antibody titres using nephelometry, and for specific IgG antibody titres to Stre...

BACKGROUND To examine whether maternal serum levels of müllerian-inhibiting substance (MIS) differ in Down's syndrome and unaffected pregnancies. METHODS Case-control study was conducted using stored serum from an antenatal screening programme. Sera from 25 Down's syndrome pregnancies were retrieved from -20 degrees C storage together with 125 unaffected controls individually matched for mate...

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disorder associated with an increased risk of adverse fetal outcomes. It is characterised by raised maternal serum bile acids, which are believed to cause the adverse outcomes. ICP is commonly treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). This study aimed to determine the fetal and maternal bile acid profiles in normal and IC...

OBJECTIVE To assess the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D status among a sample of Egyptian schoolchildren and to evaluate predictors of deficiency and insufficiency. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study comprising 200 prepubescent schoolchildren aged from 9 to 11 years was performed. A questionnaire including frequency of midday sun exposure, milk intake, physical activity, and level of m...

objective: considering the various evidences due to effects of trace elements on the outcome of pregnancy, we decided to assess the effect of these elements levels in maternal and cord serum on low birth weight. materials and methods: an analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 344 pregnant women in labour and their neonates in maryam, akbarabadi and vali-e-asr hospitals in tehran, ir...

background: previous studies have shown that preeclampsia is associated with elevated maternal serum homocysteine levels, but few studies have evaluated homocysteine levels in amniotic fluid in these patients. the purpose of this study was to compare amniotic fluid homocysteine levels in preeclamptic women, with those of normal pregnant women. methods: a cross sectional study was done on 46 pre...

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used as flame retardants. Although many reports have indicated an association between exposure to PBDEs and developmental neurotoxicity, the relative contributions of different sources of dust PBDE congeners to the levels in various tissues of mother-baby pairs is not well understood. The aims of this study were thus to measure the quantitative r...

Background: Preterm birth is a common problem in obstetrics. Objective: To measure maternal serum interlukin-6 in mothers with preterm uterine contractions and compare it with cervicovaginal interlukin-6 in the same women. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we measured interlukin-6 in the sera and cervicovaginal fluids of 86 women with preterm uterine contractions. All participants had an ...

The use of maternal age alone to identify pregnant mothers at risk of a fetus with Down's syndrome has recently been supplemented by maternal serum screening using biochemical markers such as alpha-protein, human chorionic gonadotrophin and oestriol. These tests have been reported to increase the sensitivity of antenatal detection of such fetuses from 35% to 67% with a false positive rate of 5%...