Revealing histamine-sensible activity of Wood umbilical cord serum in experiments with ring segments of arteries and umbilical cord vein and with myometrium strips of pregnant women

In experiments with 60 segments of arteries and 46 segments of the umbilical cord vein of 24 newborns and 35 strips of myometrium of 12 pregnant women, the effect of 100-fold dilutions of cord blood serum (SPK-1: 100) on the contractile effects of histamine (0.01, 0.1 and 1 ϻg l ml). SPK-1: - 100 increased the vasoconstrictor and uterostimulating effects of histamine. H1-histaminosensitizing activity of SPK-1: 100 and the efficiency of activation of H1-histamine receptors of myocytes of the arteries and umbilical cord veins are increased in the presence of obstetric complications. A conclusion was made about the content of endogenous sensitizer H1-histamine receptors (ESGR) in the fetal blood, the level of which increases in the presence of obstetric complications, as well as the possible role of histamine and ESGR in the regulation of fetoplacental blood circulation in conditions of normal and pathological conditions.

Integrated 2D Doppler indices of uteroplacental and fetal blood flow in diagnosis of intrauterine hypoxia

Relevance . Intrauterine hypoxia associated with placental disorders is a significant factor of ante-, intra- and postnatal fetal and newborn death. Despite clinical examination of pregnant women using ultrasound and cardiotocography, cases of intrauterine hypoxia often remain undetected prenatally. Clinical manifestation of placental disorders and intrauterine hypoxia are associated with pathological changes of blood flow resistance in the uterine, placental and fetal vessels. A combined Doppler assessment of blood flow in the uterine, placental and fetal vessels could improve detection of intrauterine hypoxia. The aim of the study was to assess the prognostic significance of integrated 2D Doppler indices of uteroplacental and fetal blood flow for the detection of fetal hypoxia in the 3rd trimester and to predict unfavorable perinatal outcomes. Materials and Methods. The outcomes of pregnancy of 48 women with fetal hypoxia delivered at 29 - 40 gestational weeks (study group), and 21 women who gave birth to healthy full-term infants (control group) were retrospectively analyzed. On the eve of delivery all women had 2D Doppler assessment of the uterine arteries, umbilical arteries, and fetal middle cerebral artery with an assessment of the cerebro-placental ratio, umbilical-cerebral ratio and cerebro-placental-uterine ratio. Results and Discussion . Analysis of the obtained values of cerebro-placental-uterine ratio, cerebro-placental ratio and umbilical-cerebral ratio showed the benefit from use of integrated 2D Doppler indices in the diagnosis of fetal hypoxia at 29 - 40 gestations weeks and in predicting complications in newborns. The high sensitivity of the cerebro-placental-uterine ratio (90.5%) makes it possible to effectively use this index for the diagnosis of intrauterine hypoxia. Conclusion. Pathological cerebro-placental-uterine ratio 2.44 is a clinically significant 2D Doppler criterion that predicts a high risk of asphyxia, respiratory distress syndrome, hypotrophy, and perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Lower values of the cerebro-placental ratio and umbilical-cerebral ratio sensitivity (77.1% and 81.3%, respectively) limit their use for the diagnosis of fetal hypoxia as compared with cerebro-placental-uterine ratio.

Evaluation of Placental Transfer and Tissue Distribution of cis- and Trans-Permethrin in Pregnant Rats and Fetuses Using a Physiological-Based Pharmacokinetic Model

Biomonitoring studies have highlighted the exposure of pregnant women to pyrethroids based on the measurement of their metabolites in urine. Pyrethroids can cross the placental barrier and be distributed in the fetus as some pyrethroids were also measured in the meconium of newborns. Prenatal exposure to pyrethroids is suspected to alter the neurodevelopment of children, and animal studies have shown that early life exposure to permethrin, one of the most commonly used pyrethroid in household applications, can alter the brain development. This study aimed to characterize the fetal permethrin exposure throughout gestation in rats. We developed a pregnancy physiologically based pharmacokinetic (pPBPK) model that describes the maternal and fetal kinetics of the cis- and trans- isomers of permethrin during the whole gestation period. Pregnant Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed daily to permethrin (50 mg/kg) by oral route from the start of gestation to day 20. Permethrin isomers were quantified in the feces, kidney, mammary gland, fat, and placenta in dams and in both maternal and fetal blood, brain, and liver. Cis- and trans-permethrin were quantified in fetal blood and tissues, with higher concentrations for the cis-isomer. The pPBPK model was fitted to the toxicokinetic maternal and fetal data in a Bayesian framework. Several parameters were adjusted, such as hepatic clearances, partition coefficients, and intestinal absorption. Our work allowed to estimate the prenatal exposure to permethrin in rats, especially in the fetal brain, and to quantitatively estimate the placental transfer. These transfers could be extrapolated to humans and be incorporated in a human pPBPK model to estimate the fetal exposure to permethrin from biomonitoring data.

Analysis of L-carnitine effectiveness in complex treat-ment of pregnant women with placental insufficiency

Objective. To increase the effectiveness of treatment of placental insufficiency in pregnant women with the inclusion of L-carnitine (Inestom) in complex therapy. Materials and methods. A total of 76 pregnant women aged 18 to 39 years were examined at 2240 weeks of gestation. All the examined patients were divided into two groups. Patients of the first group (n = 37) received only basic treatment, which included the use of a complex of vasodilators, tocolytics, drugs that improve microcirculation and rheological properties of blood. Patients of the second group (n = 39) received L-carnitine along with basic therapy (Inestom, Help SA Pharmaceuticals, Greece). Results. The use of the drug Inestom as a part of the complex treatment of placental insufficiency led to the normalization of utero-placental-fetal blood flow and intrauterine fetal development in 94.7 % of pregnant women. After the course of drug therapy, there was an increase in the total score of cardiotography, which in the first group of patients was 7.08 0.06 before treatment and 7.13 0.11 after treatment (p 0.05), and in the second group 7.12 0.11 before treatment and 7.95 0.05 after (p 0.05). The results of antenatal dopplerometry showed that in pregnant women who received Inestom as a part of the complex treatment, there was a decrease in the mean values of all vascular resistance indices. Conclusions. The use of Inestom in the complex treatment of placental insufficiency has a positive effect on the state of hemodynamics in the "mother-placenta-fetus" system, and affects the intrauterine state of the fetus.

Risk of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus after fetal blood sampling: a report of six cases

Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a major global public health problem worldwide; in endemic areas, mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HBV is the most common transmission route. Previous studies have shown that amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis increases the risk of MTCT of HBV among highly viraemic mothers. However, no data is available on MTCT related fetal blood sampling (FBS) because of the paucity of cases or lack of attention. We present a case series of HBV-infected women who underwent FBS with or without antiviral therapy during pregnancy and discuss the risk of MTCT after FBS. Case presentation Six hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive pregnant women who underwent FBS for prenatal diagnosis were retrospectively reviewed. Their infants were followed up with HBV serology parameters until at least 12 months of age. Among 6 cases, two hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg)-positive mothers had high viral loads > 7.0 log10 IU/mL, and one of them received antiviral therapy at 26+ 3 gestational weeks and achieved an anticipated level of 4.52 log10 IU/mL before FBS, while the other one did not receive any antiviral treatment. The other 4 cases were HBeAg-negative with low viral loads. Only a child born to the HBeAg-positive mother, who had no antiviral therapy with a viral load of 7.48 log10 IU/mL before FBS, was found to have MTCT with HBsAg persistently positive from birth to 12 months of age. The other 5 children were both HBsAg-negative and HBsAb-positive at the end of follow-up. Conclusions FBS may increase the risk of MTCT of HBV in women with HBeAg-positive and high viral loads; therefore, FBS should be avoided in this high-risk population. Maternal HBV serologic testing and awareness of the potential risk of MTCT should be recommended before FBS. Antiviral therapy may be effective to decrease the risk of MTCT after FBS in highly viraemic women.