Anatomic variability of the nerves of the triceps surae in early human fetuses

Background. Establishing fetal anatomical variability of intramuscular nerves and their connections plays an important role in the search for and development of new methods for the diagnostic and treatment posterior region of the leg. Objective – to find out the topographic and anatomical features of the innervation of the triceps surae in human fetuses 4-6 months. Methods. The study was performed on 46 human fetuses 81.0-230.0 mm crown-rump length (CRL) length using macromicroscopic preparation, vascular injection, and morphometry. Results. In early human fetuses, the anatomical variability of the distribution of intramuscular nerves in the thickness of the triceps surae was established, which is due to the variability of the structure and topography of the tibial nerve, structural and functional organization of triceps surae, arterial branching and interneural connections in the thickness of the heads of the gastrocnemius and soleus in fetuses of different and the same age groups, and sometimes in the same fetus. Conclusion. The main source of innervation of the triceps surae is the tibial nerve, which can be presented by a single trunk, main and additional trunks, or several independent trunks. The nerves in the thickness of the triceps are unevenly distributed. The highest concentration of muscular branches of the tibial nerve is determined in the medial head of the gastrocnemius and the medial part of the soleus. Information on fetal topography of intramuscular nerves in the thickness of the right and left triceps surae, as well as forms of their anatomical variability, both in fetuses of different and the same age and sometimes in the same fetus, due to structural-functional organization of the components of the triceps surae, the type of branching of arteries and nerves in the thickness of the heads of the gastrocnemius and soleus. Atypical variants of the topography of the tibial nerve and common fibular nerve in early fetuses, as well as interneural connections in the thickness of the components of the triceps surae, are more common on the right lower leg.

Melatonin Ameliorates Developmental Landmarks Induced by Gestational and Lactational Coexposure to Chlorpyriphos and Cypermethrin in F1 Male Rats

The ameliorative potentials of melatonin (ML) on developmental changes evoked by gestational and lactational co-exposure to chlorpyriphos (CP) and cypermethrin (CY) was investigated in male Wistar rats. Pregnant dams were divided at random into 6 groups of 10 animals each and treated orally by gavage from gestation day 1 to postnatal day 21 with the following regimens: The DW, SO and ML groups were administered distilled water (2 ml/kg), soya oil (2 ml/kg) and melatonin (0.5 mg/kg), respectively; CC group was co-administered CP (1.9 mg/kg) and CY (7.5 mg/kg); MC group was pretreated with ML (0.5 mg/kg) and followed by co-administration of CP and CY while the CM group was administered CP and CY and then treated with ML. We evaluated the developmental parameters on the F1 generation male rats at different postnatal intervals following parturition. Alterations in litter size and weight, number of live/dead pups, anogenital distance, crown-rump length, time of eye and ear openings, and testicular descent induced by gestational and lactational exposure to CP and CY in F1 male rats were mitigated by pre- and post-administration of ML. These curative and prophylactic potentials of ML may be partly attributed to its widely known antioxidant property.

Preclinical Trial of Traditional Plant Remedies for the Treatment of Complications of Gestational Malaria

Background: Most pregnant women living in high malaria endemic regions of Nigeria use herbal remedies for the management of malaria-in-pregnancy, rather than the commonly prescribed drugs. Remedies common to this area involve a suspension of A. indica (AI) leaves and in some cases, a suspension containing a mixture of AI and D.edulis (PS). Aim: This study examined the therapeutic efficacies of AI, PS, or a combination of AI and PS in a pregnant rat model for exoerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum parasite. Method: A predetermined sample size of 30 dams was used (for a power level and confidence interval of 95%), and divided equally into six groups made up of non-malarous dams, untreated malarous dams, and malarous dams either treated exclusively with 1 mL of 3000 mg/kg b.w AI, 1000 mg/kg b.w PS, AI + PS (50% v/v), or 25 mg/kg b.w CQ. Result: No maternal mortality was recorded. AI significantly improved maternal weight gain from 32.4 to 82.2 g and placental weight from 0.44 to 0.53 g. In the curative test, AI and AI + PS significantly reduced the average percentage parasitemia (APP) in the pregnant rats from >80% to <20%. No significant difference in the APP was found between the pregnant rats treated with any of CQ or AI during the suppressive test. Results for the prophylactic test of the study groups showed that the APP was significantly reduced from 24.69% to 3.90% when treated with AI and 3.67% when combined with PS. AI + PS reduced diastolic blood pressure from 89.0 to 81.0 mm/Hg and compared with that of the non malarous dams. AI or AI + PS significantly increased the platelet counts (103 µL) from 214.1 to 364.5 and 351.2, respectively. AI and AI + PS improved birth weight from 2.5 to 3.9 g and crown rump length from 2.6 to 4.1 cm. For biomarkers of preeclampsia, combining AI and PS led to the reversal of the altered levels of creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, cardiac troponin, soluble Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase-1, and placental growth factor. Conclusions: This study validates the use of A. indica for the treatment of gestational malaria due to its antiplasmodial and related therapeutic effects and in combination with pear seeds for the management of malaria-in-pregnancy-induced preeclampsia.

No evidence of fetal defects or anti-syncytin-1 antibody induction following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccination on pregnancy and fertility has become a major topic of public interest. We investigated two of the most widely propagated claims to determine 1) whether COVID-19 mRNA vaccination of mice during early pregnancy is associated with an increased incidence of birth defects or growth abnormalities, and 2) whether COVID-19 mRNA-vaccinated human volunteers exhibit elevated levels of antibodies to the human placental protein syncytin-1. Using a mouse model, we found that intramuscular COVID-19 mRNA vaccination during early pregnancy at gestational age E7.5 did not lead to differences in fetal size by crown-rump length or weight at term, nor did we observe any gross birth defects. In contrast, injection of the TLR3 agonist and double-stranded RNA mimic polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, or poly(I:C), impacted growth in utero leading to reduced fetal size. No overt maternal illness following either vaccination or poly(I:C) exposure was observed. We also found that term fetuses from vaccinated murine pregnancies exhibit high circulating levels of anti-Spike and anti-RBD antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 consistent with maternal antibody status, indicating transplacental transfer. Finally, we did not detect increased levels of circulating anti-syncytin-1 antibodies in a cohort of COVID-19 vaccinated adults compared to unvaccinated adults by ELISA. Our findings contradict popular claims associating COVID-19 mRNA vaccination with infertility and adverse neonatal outcomes.

Risk Assessment of the Increased Occurrence of Congenital Cardiac and Non-Cardiac Defects in Fetuses with a Normal Karyotype after Assisted Fertilization in Comparison to Natural Fertilization Based on Ultrasound Diagnostics

The goal of the study was to assess changes in parameters based on ultrasound examinations—these were Crown Rump Length (CRL), Nuchal Translucency (NT), Fetal Heart Rate (FHR), and Pulsatility Index for Ductus Venosus (DV-PI)—in the first trimester of pregnancy in women in which there was a natural initiation of the pregnancy due to spontaneous ovulation, women in which the pregnancy was initiated as a result of stimulated ovulation, as well as in the group in which pregnancy was achieved through the use of In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF)-assisted reproduction. A total of 1581 women became pregnant without the use of assisted reproduction methods. Out of 283 pregnancies, in 178 patients, induced ovulation was utilized. Next, 137 women had sexual intercourse and became pregnant; 41 of them became pregnant through Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) as a result of Artificial Insemination by Husband (AIH), and 13 became pregnant after Artificial Insemination by Donor (AID). The third group consisted of 105 women subjected to Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation (COH). In this group of pregnant women, 53 pregnancies were resultant of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), and 52 pregnancies were the result of Intracytoplasmic Morphologically selected Sperm Injection (IMSI). The obtained results did not indicate that the chosen method of fertilization or the chosen ovulation method had a statistically significant effect on the development risk of congenital heart or non-heart defects in the fetus.

Relationship of maternal obesity and vitamin D concentrations with fetal growth in early pregnancy

Purpose To evaluate the effects of the association between first trimester vitamin D (VitD) concentrations and increased prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) on early fetal growth restriction (FGR). Methods This retrospective cohort study included 15,651 women with singleton pregnancy who delivered at the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital between January 2015 and November 2016. Women were classified in two groups based on their serum 25(OH)D vitamin levels status: VitD sufficient (SUFF) group and VitD insufficient or deficient (INSUFF/DEF). The cut-off point for vit D concentration was 50.00 nmol/L. Comparisons were made between women with normal prepregnancy body weight (BMI 18.5–23.9 kg/m2) and overweight and obese (OWO) women (BMI > 24.0 kg/m2). Early FGR was defined as first-trimester gestational age-adjusted crown-rump length (CRL) in the lowest 20th centile of the population. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between maternal serum 25(OH)D levels and prepregnancy BMI with first trimester CRL and early FGR. Results In VitD INSUFF/DEF group, the first trimester CRL was decreased (P = 0.005), and the risk of early FGR was increased by 13% (95% CI 1.04–1.24, P = 0.004) compared to the VitD SUFF group. In OWO group, the first trimester CRL was also significantly decreased (P < 0.0001), and the risk of early FGR was significantly increased by 58% (95% CI 1.40–1.78, P < 0.001) compared with normal weight group. Furthermore, there was a significant combined effect of maternal VitD concentrations and OWO on CRL (P for interaction = 0.02) and the risk of early FGR (P for interaction = 0.07). Conclusion Sufficient first trimester serum 25(OH)D concentration was a protective factor for early fetal growth, especially among OWO mothers. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (Registration number: ChiCTR1900027447 with date of registration on November 13, 2019-retrospectively registered).

PSVII-3 Evaluation of dietary OmniGen AF supplementation and PG600 injection on reproductive characteristics of gilts

A cooperative study evaluated effects of supplemental dietary OmniGen AF (OG; Phibro Animal Health Corporation) on reproductive characteristics of gilts. Crossbred gilts (n = 56; initial body weight = 152.3 ± 9.7 kg) were assigned to treatments in a 2 x 2 factorial design [diet (OG or control) and PG600 (Merck Animal Health, El Dora, KS) injection (Yes or No)]. Dietary treatments were: 1) corn-SBM basal diet (control) that met NRC (2012) requirement estimates, or 2) control plus 0.75% OG and were fed 35 to 40 d prior to breeding. A common diet formulation was used by both stations. Gilts were estrous-synchronized by 14-d feeding of Matrix (Merck Animal Health). PG600 injections occurred 24 hours after Matrix withdrawal. Gilts were weighed at breeding and preslaughter (at d 39 to 48 postbreeding) and were euthanized to evaluate reproductive characteristics. There were no OG x PG600 interactions on any response measures (P &gt; 0.15). Mean responses did not differ (P &gt; 0.20) when gilts were fed control or OG diets, respectively, for total uterus weight (6,065 vs. 5,883 g), uterine horn length (129.2 vs. 123.9 cm), ovary weight (9.66 vs. 9.94 g), total corpora lutea (CL) number (25.0 vs. 25.3), individual CL weight (0.41 vs. 0.43 g), total follicular fluid weight (3.17 vs. 3.03 g), individual placenta weight (86.3 vs. 86.4 g), total fetuses (14.2 vs. 13.0), and fetus crown-rump length (7.97 vs. 7.66 cm). Supplementation with OG reduced (P = 0.04) individual placenta fluid volume of gilts (150.6 vs. 115.4 mL). PG600 injection increased (P &lt; 0.001) ovary weight (9.03 vs. 10.57 g), total CL (18.09 vs 32.27) and reduced CL weight (0.46 vs. 0.38 g). The results demonstrated classic PG600 responses on reproductive characteristics but no effects of 0.75% OG supplementation nor an interaction between the two factors.