The Potent Antioxidant MitoQ Protects Against Preeclampsia During Late Gestation but Increases the Risk of Preeclampsia When Administered in Early Pregnancy

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a cell-signaling system present in multiple organ systems and is an integral part of sustaining the microenvironment necessary for early pregnancy success and maintenance. It plays a significant role in embryo development, transport and implantation as well as placentation. The current theory behind the initiation of term labor is that it is a complex, multifactorial process involving sex steroid hormones, prostaglandin production and interplay at the maternal-fetal interface resulting in increased expression of receptors and gap junctions that promote uterine activation. There is increasing evidence that, in addition to early pregnancy events, the ECS plays a regulatory role in pregnancy maintenance and the timing of labor. This review presents an overview of the ECS in pregnancy that focuses on late gestation and parturition.

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Accelerated Fetal Growth in Early Pregnancy and Risk of Preterm Birth: A Prospective Cohort Study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-39242/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Evangelia Elenis ◽

Anna-Karin Wikström ◽

Marija Simic

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Preterm Birth ◽

Prospective Cohort Study ◽

Fetal Growth ◽

Early Pregnancy ◽

Prospective Cohort ◽

Late Gestation ◽

Second Trimester ◽

Spontaneous Preterm Birth ◽

Increased Risk

Abstract Background: Preterm birth (occurring before 37 completed weeks of gestation) affects 15 million infants annually, 7.5% of which die due to related complications. The detection and early diagnosis are therefore paramount in order to prevent the development of prematurity and its consequences. So far, focus has been laid on the association between reduced intrauterine fetal growth during late gestation and prematurity. The aim of the current study was to investigate the association between accelerated fetal growth in early pregnancy and the risk of preterm birth. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 69 617 singleton pregnancies without congenital malformations and with available biometric measurements during the first and second trimester. Estimation of fetal growth was based on measurements of biparietal diameter (BPD) at first and second trimester scan. We investigated the association between accelerated fetal growth and preterm birth prior to 37 weeks of gestation. The outcome was further stratified into very preterm birth (before 32 weeks of gestation) or moderate preterm birth (between 32 and 37 weeks of gestation) and medically induced or spontaneous preterm birth and was further explored. Results: The odds of prematurity were increased among fetuses with accelerated BPD growth (> 90th centile) estimated between first and second ultrasound scan, even after adjustment for possible confounders (aOR 1.36; 95% CI 1.20-1.54). The findings remained significant what regards moderate preterm births but not earlier births. Regarding medically induced preterm birth, the odds were found to be elevated in the group of fetuses with accelerated growth in early pregnancy (aOR 1.34; 95% CI 1.11-1.63). On the contrary, fetuses with delayed fetal growth exhibited lower risk for both overall and spontaneous preterm birth.Conclusions: Fetuses with accelerated BPD growth in early pregnancy, detected by ultrasound examination during the second trimester, exhibited increased risk of being born preterm. The findings of the current study suggest that fetal growth in early pregnancy should be taken into account when assessing the likelihood for preterm birth.

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499: Metformin and prediabetes: could early pregnancy metformin exposure decrease the risk of preeclampsia?

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology ◽

10.1016/j.ajog.2019.11.515 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 222 (1) ◽

pp. S325

Author(s):

Jenna L. Racine ◽

Jacquelyn H. Adams ◽

Kathleen M. Antony ◽

J. Igor Iruretagoyena ◽

Kara K. Hoppe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Pregnancy ◽

Risk Of Preeclampsia

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Prospective Association Between Manganese in Early Pregnancy and the Risk of Preeclampsia

Epidemiology ◽

10.1097/ede.0000000000001227 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 677-680

Author(s):

Tiange Liu ◽

Marie-France Hivert ◽

Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman ◽

Mohammad L. Rahman ◽

Emily Oken ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Early Pregnancy ◽

Prospective Association ◽

Risk Of Preeclampsia

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Circulating Angiogenic Factors in Early Pregnancy and the Risk of Preeclampsia, Intrauterine Growth Restriction, Spontaneous Preterm Birth, and Stillbirth

Yearbook of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine ◽

10.1016/s8756-5005(08)79006-1 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 2008 ◽

pp. 21-22

Author(s):

R.J. Wong

Keyword(s):

Preterm Birth ◽

Early Pregnancy ◽

Intrauterine Growth Restriction ◽

Angiogenic Factors ◽

Growth Restriction ◽

Spontaneous Preterm Birth ◽

Intrauterine Growth ◽

Risk Of Preeclampsia

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Effects of glucocorticoid treatment given in early or late gestation on growth and development in sheep

Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease ◽

10.1017/s204017441200075x ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 146-156 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

S. Li ◽

D. M. Sloboda ◽

T. J. M. Moss ◽

I. Nitsos ◽

G. R. Polglase ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Factor ◽

Early Pregnancy ◽

Plasma Insulin ◽

Fetal Brain ◽

Late Gestation ◽

Fetal Weight ◽

Postnatal Life ◽

Insulin Like Growth Factor ◽

Organ Weights ◽

Fetal Organ

Antenatal corticosteroids are used to augment fetal lung maturity in human pregnancy. Dexamethasone (DEX) is also used to treat congenital adrenal hyperplasia of the fetus in early pregnancy. We previously reported effects of synthetic corticosteroids given to sheep in early or late gestation on pregnancy length and fetal cortisol levels and glucocorticoids alter plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) concentrations in late pregnancy and reduce fetal weight. The effects of administering DEX in early pregnancy on fetal organ weights and betamethasone (BET) given in late gestation on weights of fetal brain regions or organ development have not been reported. We hypothesized that BET or DEX administration at either stage of pregnancy would have deleterious effects on fetal development and associated hormones. In early pregnancy, DEX was administered as four injections at 12-hourly intervals over 48 h commencing at 40–42 days of gestation (dG). There was no consistent effect on fetal weight, or individual fetal organ weights, except in females at 7 months postnatal age. When BET was administered at 104, 111 and 118 dG, the previously reported reduction in total fetal weight was associated with significant reductions in weights of fetal brain, cerebellum, heart, kidney and liver. Fetal plasma insulin, leptin and triiodothyronine were also reduced at different times in fetal and postnatal life. We conclude that at the amounts given, the sheep fetus is sensitive to maternal administration of synthetic glucocorticoid in late gestation, with effects on growth and metabolic hormones that may persist into postnatal life.

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Changes in baroreceptor sensitivity for heart rate during normotensive pregnancy and the puerperium

Clinical Science ◽

10.1042/cs0980259 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 98 (3) ◽

pp. 259-268 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Melanie J. BLAKE ◽

Allison MARTIN ◽

Brad N. MANKTELOW ◽

Charles ARMSTRONG ◽

Aidan W. HALLIGAN ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Early Pregnancy ◽

High Frequency ◽

Post Partum ◽

Late Pregnancy ◽

Late Gestation ◽

Control Group ◽

Pulse Interval ◽

Normotensive Pregnancy

Normal pregnancy is associated with marked changes in cardiovascular haemodynamics, which in part may be due to changes in autonomic control mechanisms. Baroreflex sensitivity for heart rate (BRS) was calculated in the supine and standing positions using power spectral analysis of pulse interval (PI) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in 16 normotensive pregnant women and 10 normotensive non-pregnant controls. The pregnant women were studied on three occasions during their pregnancy (early, mid- and late gestation) and once during the puerperium. Supine total SBP variability increased between early and late pregnancy by 79% [95% confidence intervals (CI) 30%, 145%; P < 0.001], and supine high-frequency PI variability decreased by 75% (CI 51%, 88%; P < 0.001). Supine BRS fell by 50% (P < 0.001), with values returning to early-pregnancy levels in the puerperium, which were similar to those recorded in the control group. Standing SBP variability and BRS values were unchanged during pregnancy and post partum. The low/high frequency ratio of PI variability, taken as a surrogate measure of sympathovagal balance, increased by 137% (CI 42%, 296%; P < 0.01) in the supine but not the standing position from early to late pregnancy. This was due to a decrease in high-frequency variability rather than to an increase in low-frequency variability, suggesting that these changes may have been due to vagal withdrawal rather than increased sympathetic activity. Normotensive pregnancy is associated with a marked decrease in supine BRS, although the exact mechanisms for these changes remain unclear. Further studies are required to define whether changes in BRS and sympathovagal tone in early pregnancy can be used to predict the onset of pregnancy-induced hypertension.

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