Premature birth accounts for the majority of fetal morbidity and mortality in the developed world and is disproportionately represented in some populations, such as African Americans in the United States. The costs associated with prematurity are staggering in both monetary and human terms. Present therapeutic approaches for the treatment of labor leading to preterm delivery are inadequate and ...

The present work investigated the effect of Morinda lucida (M. lucida) extract on isolated uterine smooth muscle of pregnant and non-pregnant mice. Pregnant and non-pregnant mice were pretreated with oral stilboesterol (0.1 mg/kg body weight) and killed by cervical dislocation. Thin strips of the uterus were cut and mounted in a 20 ml organ bath containing De Jalon solution bubbled with 95%O2-5...

The relaxing effects of adenosine, N-[(R)-1-methyl-2 phenylethyl]-adenosine (R-PIA) and 5-N-ethylcarboxamide adenosine (NECA) were investigated in human uterine arteries precontracted by phenylephrine in vitro. Adenosine, R-PIA and NECA relaxed isolated uterine arteries with intact endothelium, the potency order was NECA > R-PIA > adenosine. When tested on vessels devoid of their endothelium, t...

Tocolysis means drug-induced Inhibition of premature or excessive uterine activity [38], Other terms, such äs "sedation of the irritated myometrium" or "relaxation of the uterus" have the same meaning; they are, however, not commonly applied [10, 11, 17, 29]. At the beginning of the research for new substances with inhibitory effect on the uterus it was postulated that progesterone or newlydeve...

BACKGROUND The effects of epidural anaesthesia on maternal uteroplacental blood flow in the presence of uterine contractions remain unclear. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of epidural analgesia with bolus doses on uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA-PI) during labour. METHODS In a prospective case-control study, UtA-PI was measured during uterine contraction and relaxation...

A 36 years old female Gravida 3 Para 1 Aborta 1 presented at 35+2 weeks of gestation with increased frequency and intensity of her uterine contractions. An epidural catheter was inserted at L3-L4 interspace for labor analgesia. A decision was made for Cesarean delivery due to the transverse presentation of the baby. The epidural catheter was loaded by a bolus of 10 ml lidocaine 2%, 5 ml bupivac...

Lines of mice, selected for 21 generations using alternative criteria to increase litter size, were evaluated for uterine mass and uterine blood volume to help explain differences in uterine capacity. For this study, mice were sampled from Generation 27, the sixth generation after relaxation of selection. Mice came from all four criteria of selection (LS = selection on number born to unaltered ...

Studying the mechanism(s) of uterine relaxation is important and will be helpful in the prevention of obstetric difficulties such as preterm labour, which remains a major cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity. Multiple signalling pathways regulate the balance between maintaining relative uterine quiescence during gestation, and the transition to the contractile state at the onset of partur...

Molecular mechanisms involved in uterine quiescence during gestation and those responsible for induction of labor at term are incompletely known. More than 10% of babies born worldwide are premature and 1,000,000 die annually. Preterm labor results in preterm delivery in 50% of cases in the United States explaining 75% of fetal morbidity and mortality. There is no Food and Drug Administration-a...

Reduction in uterine perfusion and the ensuing placental ischemia during late pregnancy have been proposed to trigger increases in systemic vascular resistance and pregnancy-induced hypertension; however, the intermediary mechanisms involved are unclear. The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that reduced uterine perfusion pressure during late pregnancy is associated with i...