This ex vivo study focuses on the mechanisms of endothelium-dependent dilatation in the uterine circulation of normal pregnancy (n = 12) and in women with preeclampsia (n = 12). Arteries (internal diameter, ∼250 μm) isolated by myometrial biopsy from women undergoing planned cesarean delivery or delivery as a result of the deterioration of preeclampsia were studied using a wire myograph. Bradyk...

Preeclampsia remains a leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality, due to ineffective treatment and diagnostic strategies, compounded by the lack of clarity on the etiology of the disorder. Although several clinical and biological markers of preeclampsia have been evaluated, they have proven to be ineffective in providing a definitive diagnosis during the various stages of the disorder. Exos...

BACKGROUND The physiological changes in thyroid gland during pregnancy have been suggested as one of the pathophysiologic causes of preeclampsia. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was comparison of serum levels of Tri-iodothyronine (T3), Thyroxine (T4), and Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) in preeclampsia and normal pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this case-control study, 40 normal pregn...

Well-controlled trophoblast invasion at the maternal-fetal interface is crucial for normal placentation and successful pregnancy, otherwise pathological conditions of pregnancy occur, such as preeclampsia. In previous studies, it has been demonstrated that unique long 16 binding protein (ULBP)1, a ligand for the natural-killer group (NKG)2D receptor on uterine natural killer (uNK) cells, is upr...

background :   a  lot  of  studies  have  shown  periodontal  diseases  as  a  risk  factor  for  adverse  pregnancy  out­comes. the  as­sociation  between  periodontitis  and  preeclampsia  has  been  studied  recently  with  contro­versy. considering  the  importance  of  preventing  preeclampsia  as  a  dangerous  and  life-threatening  disease  in  pregnant  women,  the  pre­sent  study  wa...

BACKGROUND To evaluate the impact of a prior cesarean section on preeclampsia risk in a subsequent pregnancy. METHODS Study data were collected from the Korea National Health Insurance Claims Database of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service for 2006-2010. Patients who had their first delivery in 2006 and subsequent delivery between 2007 and 2010 in Korea were enrolled. The overa...

Accommodation of the fetoplacental unit in human pregnancy requires maternal immune tolerance to this "semiallograft". Local antiplacental immunity is modified by synthesis of uncommon histocompatibility Ags (e.g., HLA-G), growth factors, and cytokines by the placenta. Placental interleukins have been identified in reproductive tissues, but their roles in adaptive maternal immunity and determin...

BACKGROUND Preeclampsia is a serious complication in pregnancy with an increased future cardiovascular and metabolic risk for both mother and newborn. Recently, angiopoietin-related growth factor (AGF) was introduced as a novel liver-derived protein with proangiogenic and insulin-sensitizing effects. In the current study, we hypothesized that serum levels of AGF would be lower in preeclamptic p...

Conrad, Kirk P., Laurie J. Kerchner, and Monique D. Mosher. Plasma and 24-h NOx and cGMP during normal pregnancy and preeclampsia in women on a reduced NOx diet. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Renal Physiol. 46): F48–F57, 1999.—We tested the hypothesis that nitric oxide (NO) biosynthesis increases during normal human pregnancy and decreases in preeclampsia. The major metabolites of NO, nitrate and nitrit...