BACKGROUND Despite controversies about the safest anesthetic technique for cesarean delivery in severely preeclamptic women, there is evidence that supports the use of spinal anesthesia in this group of patients. OBJECTIVES This prospective randomized clinical trial was designed to determine the hemodynamic effects of low-dose spinal bupivacaine and the incidence of spinal anesthesia-associat...

Regulatory T cells (T(regs); CD4+CD25(high)Foxp3+) are critical in maintaining immune tolerance during pregnancy and uterine vascularization. In this study, we show that, in Mexican women with different preeclamptic severity levels, the number of T(regs) and the subset of CD4+CD25(high)Foxp3+ are decreased compared with those of normotensive pregnant women (NP). Moreover, a systemic inflammator...

Maternal immune tolerance of the semiallogeneic fetus is a complex phenomenon. Macrophages are an abundant cell population in the human decidua, and changes in distribution or phenotype may be involved in the development of preeclampsia. The aim of this study was to assess the distribution and phenotype of macrophages in preterm preeclamptic, preterm control, and term control placentas. Placent...

Atherosis of spiral arteries in uteroplacental beds from preeclamptic women resemble those of atherosclerosis, characterized by increased plasma lipids and lipoproteins. We hypothesized that: 1) lipoprotein receptors/transporters in the placenta would be upregulated in preeclampsia, associated with increased maternal and fetal lipoprotein concentrations; and 2) expression of these would be redu...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of fetal gender on serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and testosterone in normotensive and preeclamptic pregnancies. METHODS The study consisted of 137 women with singleton pregnancies in the third trimester. Seventy-three pregnancies were uncomplicated; among those were 35 male and 38 female fetuses. Sixty-four pregnanc...

OBJECTIVE To compare serum calcium, magnesium and uric acid in mild, severe preeclamptic women and normal pregnant women. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Section of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taksin Hospital. MATERIAL AND METHOD The data was collected from 36 normal pregnant women, 35 mild preeclamptic women and 33 severe preeclamptic women who were admitted in the Section of ...

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is thought to influence serum homocysteine concentrations, at least in part, due to its homocysteine thiolactonase activity and to play a role in preeclampsia and atherosclerosis. We investigated the effects of PON 55 and PON 192 polymorphisms on plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in preeclamptic and healthy pregnants among Turkish population (N = 106). PON 55 ...

OBJECTIVE We determined the calcium activated adenosine triphosphatase (Ca-ATPase) activity and level of lipid peroxidation thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) of red blood cell ghosts in the antepartum and postpartum of normotensive and preeclamptic pregnant women. METHODS Samples of venous blood were obtained by venipuncture of nulliparous normotensive and preeclamptic pregnant ...

Preeclampsia is a common pregnancy specific syndrome that is more often associated with trophoblast dysfunction during the first trimester of pregnancy. Trophoblast plays a central role in determining fetal growth and the development of pregnancy complications as wells as in programming of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in the developing fetus. Infection specific inflammation is a primary...

BACKGROUND Epidemiological studies show a substantially reduced risk of breast cancer in adult daughters of preeclamptic pregnancies, and modest risk reductions have been demonstrated for mothers also. Alterations in pregnancy hormone concentrations, particularly lower in utero exposure to oestrogen, are hypothesized to mediate this association. METHODS Pregnancy hormone concentrations were m...