Methods of prolonging a pregnancy threatened with preterm labour

Both prolonged and shortened pregnancies carry the risk of increased mortality of the offspring. The main causes of early delivery are genetic factors, bacterial and viral infections, corpus luteum insufficiency and pathologies of the placenta. Antepartum luteolysis is due to the activity of prostaglandin F2α. A decrease in the progesterone concentration activates the sensitivity of the uterine muscles to oxytocin. Calcium ions move into the myocytes and bind to calmodulin, starting enzymatic reactions necessary for muscle contraction. Oxytocin promotes prostaglandin F2α release. Cholesterol and magnesium stimulate the binding of oxytocin to its receptors. A premature delivery is caused by a disorder of the balance between contractility and relaxation of the myometrium, which is regulated by many signalling pathways. Birth in humans can be postponed by the use of many different tocolytic medications, β-adrenergic drugs (ritodrine, hexoprenaline, fenoterol, terbutaline), magnesium salts, prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors (indomethacin, naproxen), pentoxifylline, metoprolol, calcium antagonists – calcium channel blockers (nifedipine), oxytocine antagonists (atosiban), nitric oxide donors (nitroglycerin) as well as progesterone and its synthetic analogs. In dogs and cats, in the presence of endogenous hormone deficiency, progesterone and its derivatives (gestagens) are recommended. In small animals with the risk of premature delivery, terbutaline has successfully been used. Premature delivery is a serious problem in both human and veterinary medicine, and experience from human medicine is being gradually introduced into veterinary practice.

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Traits that influence longevity in mice: a second look.

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/132.1.229 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 132 (1) ◽

pp. 229-239

Author(s):

K B Dear ◽

M Salazar ◽

A L Watson ◽

R S Gelman ◽

R Bronson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Span ◽

Genetic Factors ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Genetic Interactions ◽

Chromosome 9 ◽

Chromosome 4 ◽

Histological Findings ◽

Male And Female ◽

Female Genotype ◽

Dominant Black

Abstract Analysis of genetic interactions in the F2 of an intercross of (C57BL/6 x DBA/2) F1J revealed influences of genetic factors on life span. Females lived longer than males. Dilute brown females died sooner than females of other colors. H-2b/H-2b males died sooner than H-2b/H-2d or H-2d/H-2d males, except that among dilute brown males those of typeH-2b/H-2d died sooner. Cluster analysis suggested that male and female genotypes each fall into two groups, with female dilute brown mice having shorter lives than other females, and male H-2b/H-2b mice except dilute brown and dilute brown H-2b/H-2d mice having shorter lives than other males. The association of heterozygosity with life span was clearer in females than in males, yet the longest-lived female genotype was homozygous H-2d/H-2d, of dominant Black phenotype at the Brown locus of chromosome 4, and homozygous dd at the Dilute locus of chromosome 9. The shortest-lived females were dilute brown H-2b/H-2b. The longest-lived and shortest-lived male genotypes were dilute brown H-2d/H-2d and dilute brown H-2b/H-2d, respectively. Although histological findings at postmortem differed between the sexes, there was no association of particular disorders with other genetic markers. The importance of H-2 in males was confirmed, but the allelic effects were perturbed, possibly by the absence of Sendai infection in this experiment. Overall our studies suggest that genetic influences on life span involve interactions between loci, and allelic interactions may change with viral infections or other environmental factors.

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The molecular genetics of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Obstetric Medicine ◽

10.1258/om.2008.080010 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 65-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

P H Dixon ◽

C Williamson

Keyword(s):

Molecular Genetics ◽

Intrahepatic Cholestasis ◽

Genetic Factors ◽

Preterm Labour ◽

Intrauterine Death ◽

Intrahepatic Cholestasis Of Pregnancy ◽

Liver Impairment ◽

Cholestasis Of Pregnancy ◽

Shed Light

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), also known as obstetric cholestasis, causes maternal pruritus and liver impairment, and may be complicated by spontaneous preterm labour, fetal asphyxial events and intrauterine death. Our understanding of the aetiology of this disease has expanded significantly in the last decade due to a better understanding of the role played by genetic factors. In particular, advances in our knowledge of bile homeostasis has led to the identification of genes that play a considerable role in susceptibility to ICP. In this review we consider these advances and discuss the disease in the context of bile synthesis and metabolism, focusing on the genetic discoveries that have shed light on the molecular aetiology and pathophysiology of the condition.

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Lack of association between angiotensin blockade and severity of influenza: a nationwide case-control study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-227875/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yaa-Hui Dong ◽

Jo-Hsuan Wu ◽

Jiun-Ling Wang ◽

Ho-Min Chen ◽

James L. Caffrey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Influenza A ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Angiotensin Receptor Blockers ◽

Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors ◽

Case Control ◽

Channel Blockers ◽

Converting Enzyme Inhibitors ◽

Severe Influenza ◽

Control Study

Abstract Purpose Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) may modulate ACE2 level and the risk of viral infections. However, studies of the risk of the severity of influenza associated with ACEIs or ARBs in the real-world settings were limited and the findings are conflicting. Methods This case-control study evaluated the risk of developing severe influenza disease associated with ACEIs and ARBs in hypertension patients hospitalized for influenza from a population-based Taiwanese database. Logistic regression models were conducted to estimate ORs and 95% CIs associated with ACEIs or ARBs within 30 days before hospitalization. Results We included 1,369 cases (severe influenza patients) and 4,107 matched controls (non-severe influenza patients). ORs for any use of ACEIs and ARBs were 1.15 (95% CI, 0.93–1.42) and 0.97 (0.84–1.12) versus nonuse. Similarly, no significant association was observed for monotherapy with ACEIs (1.47; 0.95–2.29) or ARBs (0·76; 0.53–1.10) versus nonuse. Combination therapy between calcium channel blockers (CCBs) and either ACEIs (1.57; 0.91–2.70) or ARBs (1.23; 0·93-1.62) were not significantly different from CCBs alone. Conclusions Our findings did not suggest an association between ACEIs and/or ARBs and the severity of influenza. Stable patients should maintain their anti-hypertensive regimens in the influenza epidemic era.

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Calcium channel blockers for inhibiting preterm labour

10.1002/14651858.cd002255 ◽

2003 ◽

Cited By ~ 99

Author(s):

James F King ◽

Vicki Flenady ◽

Dimitri Papatsonis ◽

Gustaaf Dekker ◽

Bruno Carbonne

Keyword(s):

Calcium Channel ◽

Calcium Channel Blockers ◽

Preterm Labour ◽

Channel Blockers

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A computational study of autoimmune disease model

Asian-European Journal of Mathematics ◽

10.1142/s1793557120501697 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (08) ◽

pp. 2050169

Author(s):

Iveta Nikolova ◽

Anka Markovska ◽

Mikhail Kolev

Keyword(s):

Mathematical Model ◽

Autoimmune Disease ◽

Qualitative Analysis ◽

Numerical Experiments ◽

Genetic Factors ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Computational Study ◽

Disease Model ◽

Point Of View ◽

Economic Conditions

Nowadays autoimmune diseases are widely distributed. More than 80 illnesses are included into this group of conditions. Their causes are not clear exactly, but it is believed that among them are genetic factors, viral infections, socio-economic conditions, etc. We propose a new mathematical model describing a general autoimmune disease in order to analyze some mechanisms of autoimmune disorders. The model is a system of ordinary differential equations. We perform preliminary qualitative analysis of the model as well as propose an algorithm for numerical simulations. Some results of our numerical experiments are presented and commented from a biological point of view.

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