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Nutrients 2020 May 20;12(5). Epub 2020 May 20.

Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation (MCHRI) and Centre of Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics (CCRET), School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne 3168 VIC, Australia.

Vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP), the main carrier of vitamin D, has recently been implicated in reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Improved methods for measuring VDBP and an increased understanding of its role in biological processes have led to a number of newly published studies exploring VDBP in the context of pregnancy. Here, we synthesize the available evidence regarding the role of VDBP in reproductive health and pregnancy, and we highlight areas requiring further study. Read More

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2020 Apr 29;250:155-161. Epub 2020 Apr 29.

Division of Pathology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.

Objective: To evaluate histological alterations in placentas of women affected by breast cancer and treated with chemotherapy during pregnancy.

Study Design: We retrospectively reviewed histological slides of 23 placentas of patients affected by breast cancer and treated with chemotherapy during pregnancy and 23 control placentas of women without breast cancer and with physiological pregnancies of the same gestational age.

Results: All the patients had breast ductal infiltrating carcinoma, 19 of 23 cases had a G3 cancer. Read More

Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2020 May 22. Epub 2020 May 22.

Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine, King's College Hospital, London, UK.

Objective: First-trimester screening for preeclampsia (PE) is useful because treatment of the high-risk group with aspirin reduces the rate of early-PE with delivery at <34 weeks' gestation by about 80% and preterm-PE with delivery at <37 weeks by 60%. In previous studies we reported that the best way of identifying the high-risk group is by a combination of maternal factors, mean arterial pressure (MAP), uterine artery pulsatility index (UtA-PI), and serum placental growth factor (PLGF). An alternative biochemical marker is pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), which is widely used as part of early screening for trisomies. Read More

Hum Reprod Update 2020 May 22. Epub 2020 May 22.

Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK.

Background: In humans, inadequate trophoblast invasion into the decidua is associated with the 'great obstetrical syndromes' which include pre-eclampsia, foetal growth restriction (FGR) and stillbirth. The mechanisms regulating invasion remain poorly understood, although interactions with the uterine environment are clearly of central importance. Extravillous trophoblast (EVT) cells invade the uterus and transform the spiral arteries. Read More

Drug Ther Bull 2020 May 21. Epub 2020 May 21.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, West Middlesex University Hospital, Middlesex, UK

Reproduction 2020 May 1. Epub 2020 May 1.

E Jauniaux, EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Development of the human placenta takes place in contrasting oxygen concentrations at different stages of gestation, from ~20 mmHg during the first trimester rising to ~60 mmHg at the start of the second trimester before gradually declining to ~40 mmHg at term. In view of these changes the early placenta has been described as 'hypoxic'. However, placental metabolism is heavily glycolytic, supported by the rich supply of glucose from the endometrial glands, and there is no evidence of energy compromise. Read More

Cell Death Discov 2020 13;6:35. Epub 2020 May 13.

2School of Biosciences, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, 261053 Shandong China.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a life-threatening disorder of human pregnancy affecting 5-8% of all pregnancies. Currently, PE remains an elusive complicated and heterogenous medical condition with no early marker or symptoms is recognized for this serious pregnancy complications. Here, we profiled the plasma miRNA expression patterns associated with preeclampsia and found 16 miRNAs were deregulated ( < 0. Read More

Reprod Health 2020 May 20;17(1):68. Epub 2020 May 20.

Department of woman, child and adolescent. Division of Gynecology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.

Background: Studies have shown the impact of female genital mutilation (FGM), especially infibulation (WHO type III), on reproductive health, and adverse obstetric outcomes like postpartum haemorrhage and obstructed labour. However, whether an association exists with maternal hypertensive complication is not known. The present study sought to investigate the role of the different types of FGM on the occurrence of eclampsia. Read More

J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2020 May 20:1-9. Epub 2020 May 20.

Department of Fetal Medicine, Nahas Hospital, Malappuram, Kerala, India.

Pre-eclampsia complicating 2-5% of pregnancies is an obstetrical syndrome associated with deleterious short-and long-term consequences to the gravid women, the fetus and the neonate. Majority of the obstetrical complications occur in early pre-eclampsia (requiring delivery <34 weeks). The risk factor based approach recommended by the professional organizations for pre-eclampsia screening has shown suboptimal clinical performance. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2020 May 18;13(5). Epub 2020 May 18.

Department of OB/GYN, Trinity Health of New England, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

We present a case of a pregnant woman with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura and chronic hypertension who developed pre-eclampsia with severe features warranting delivery. Her overall clinical picture and liver enzymes improved in the immediate postpartum period, however, aggressively progressing thrombocytopenia posed a diagnostic dilemma to the interdisciplinary care team. After failing to respond to first-line therapies including high-dose corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin, she was successfully managed with a trial of the thrombopoietin receptor agonist, Romiplostim. Read More

J Obstet Gynaecol Res 2020 May 19. Epub 2020 May 19.

UMAE Hospital de Gineco-Obstetricia No. 3, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City, Mexico.

Aim: The objective of this review is to describe the immunological mechanisms which facilitate maternal tolerance at the maternal-placental interface, and to discuss how these mechanisms are disrupted in pre-eclampsia.

Methods: A literature review was performed based on the analysis of papers available on PubMed. The most important and relevant studies regarding the immunological mechanisms which facilitate maternal tolerance in healthy pregnancy and pre-eclampsia are presented in this article. Read More

Hypertens Pregnancy 2020 May 19:1-6. Epub 2020 May 19.

High Risk Pregnancy Study Group, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

: To assess the predictive abilities of serum and urinary cystatin C levels for glomerular lesions in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia.: In this study, kidney function markers were compared between38 pregnant women with pre-eclampsia and 22 healthy pregnant women.: The serum and urine levels of cystatin C and urea were significantly higher in the pre-eclampsia group than in the control group. Read More

BMJ Open 2020 May 17;10(5):e035507. Epub 2020 May 17.

HUNT Research Centre, Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Levanger, Norway

Introduction: Compared to women with normotensive pregnancies, women with a history of pre-eclampsia have a roughly fourfold increased risk of developing chronic arterial hypertension and a twofold increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lifestyle changes, such as increased physical activity, weight loss, smoking cessation and healthy diet, are effective for CVD prevention in the general population. However, no scoping review or systematic review of postpartum lifestyle interventions among women with pre-eclampsia have, to our best knowledge, been performed. Read More

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2020 May 18;20(1):301. Epub 2020 May 18.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, P.O. Box 65001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Background: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy is the second most common direct cause of maternal deaths accounting for 14% of maternal deaths worldwide. Severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are among the hypertensive disorders in pregnancy causing significant morbidity and mortality, hence categorized as Maternal Near Miss. At Muhimbili National Hospital these are the leading causes of maternal deaths accounting for 19. Read More

Acta Biomed 2020 May 11;91(2):365-372. Epub 2020 May 11.

University of Parma.

Background: Posterior reversible encephalopathy (PRES) is a rare syndrome characterized by headache, confusion, seizures, visual changes and white matter edema at radiological imaging. Its pathophysiology is not clarified and different causes, including uncontrolled hypertension, eclampsia, chemotherapy and hypomagnesemia have been suggested.

Case Report: A woman affected by stage IV breast cancer with lower extremity deep vein thrombosis treated with low-molecular-weight-heparin, currently in therapy with Palbociclib/Fulvestrant (antiCDK4 and 6/estrogen receptor antagonist) but previously treated with several other chemotherapy lines (including VEGF inhibitor bevacizumab), was admitted to our Internal Medicine department because of ascites and abdominal pain. Read More

Mil Med 2020 May 18. Epub 2020 May 18.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, San Antonio Military Medical Center, 3551 Roger Brooke Drive, San Antonio, TX 78234.

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is a well-known entity in assisted reproductive technology. However, it is unusual for this entity to occur without any medications that stimulate follicle stimulating hormone. Herein, we describe a case where a partial molar pregnancy with high human chorionic gonadotropin promiscuously activated follicle stimulating hormone receptors has resulted in spontaneous ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Read More

Eur J Prev Cardiol 2020 May 16:2047487320925646. Epub 2020 May 16.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University and ASST Spedali Civili, Italy.

BJOG 2020 May 16. Epub 2020 May 16.

Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom.

Objective: To develop a core outcome set for pre-eclampsia.

Design: Consensus development study.

Setting: International. Read More

Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2020 May 16. Epub 2020 May 16.

Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Shenzhou City Hospital, Shenzhou, Hebei, China.

Objective: To evaluate patterns of insulin secretion in pregnancy and analyze the association between insulin patterns and risks of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods: A prospective study was conducted to collect and analyze pregnant women's materials from January 2015 to December 2018. Pregnant women were grouped according to results of 75-g oral glucose tolerance test at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy: normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and GDM. Read More

Transl Res 2020 May 12. Epub 2020 May 12.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, 1830 E. Monument Street, Suite 7500, Baltimore, Maryland 21286, USA. Electronic address:

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is one of the more common acquired causes of hypercoagulability. Its major presentations are thrombotic (arterial, venous or microvascular) and pregnancy morbidity (miscarriages, late intrauterine fetal demise, and severe pre-eclampsia). Classification criteria include three different antiphospholipid antibodies: lupus anticoagulant; anticardiolipin; and anti-beta 2 glycoprotein I. Read More

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2020 May 14;20(1):297. Epub 2020 May 14.

Global Women's Health, King's College, London, UK.

Background: The Majority (99%) of maternal deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. The three most important causes of maternal deaths in these regions are postpartum hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and puerperal sepsis. There are several diagnostic criteria used to identify sepsis and one of the commonly used criteria is systematic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020 May 14. Epub 2020 May 14.

Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT), Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo & Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, 0424 Oslo, Norway.

The expanding behavioral repertoire of the developing brain during childhood and adolescence is shaped by complex brain-environment interactions and flavored by unique life experiences. The transition into young adulthood offers opportunities for adaptation and growth but also increased susceptibility to environmental perturbations, such as the characteristics of social relationships, family environment, quality of schools and activities, financial security, urbanization and pollution, drugs, cultural practices, and values, that all act in concert with our genetic architecture and biology. Our multivariate brain-behavior mapping in 7,577 children aged 9 to 11 y across 585 brain imaging phenotypes and 617 cognitive, behavioral, psychosocial, and socioeconomic measures revealed three population modes of brain covariation, which were robust as assessed by cross-validation and permutation testing, taking into account siblings and twins, identified using genetic data. Read More

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2020 May 14;20(1):292. Epub 2020 May 14.

Archbishop Antony Mayala School of Nursing, Catholic University of Health and Allied Health Sciences, Mwanza, Tanzania.

Background: Timely intrapartum referral between facilities is pivotal in reducing maternal/neonatal mortality and morbidity but is distressing to women, resource-intensive and likely to cause delays in care provision. We explored the complexities around referrals to gain understanding of the characteristics, experiences and outcomes of those being transferred.

Methods: We used a mixed-method parallel convergent design, in Tanzania and Zambia. Read More

Heart 2020 May 13. Epub 2020 May 13.

Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States

Background And Objective: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) affect 5%-10% of pregnancies and have been associated with excess maternal cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The primary aim of this study was to reliably estimate absolute and relative risks of CVD after HDP.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of women who had singleton pregnancies in New South Wales, Australia, between 2002 and 2016 and identified using linked population health administrative databases. Read More

BMJ Open 2020 May 12;10(5):e035574. Epub 2020 May 12.

Reproductive Health, University of Gondar College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Gondar, Ethiopia.

Introduction: Preterm birth (PTB) complications are the leading cause of death among neonates globally. The reduction in neonatal mortality is not remarkable in Ethiopia. Therefore, this review will assess the magnitude and associated factors of PTB in Ethiopia. Read More

J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2020 May 13:1-7. Epub 2020 May 13.

Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.

To determine the prevalence of virus in a previously uncharacterized matched maternal-infant preterm cohort and test if viral presence or viral load correlate with histologic chorioamnionitis, spontaneous preterm labor or pre-eclampsia. Using qRT-PCR/qPCR we tested plasma or whole blood samples from 56 matched maternal and premature infant dyads for: adenovirus, anellovirus (alphatorquevirus and betatorquevirus), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), enterovirus, human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6), parechovirus, and parvovirus B19. Viral detection was more common in maternal samples 29/56 (52%) than in cord blood from their infants (4/56 (7%)) ( ≤ . Read More

Scand J Clin Lab Invest 2020 May 13:1-7. Epub 2020 May 13.

Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC), VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.

Multiple small studies have suggested that women with pre-eclampsia present elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). However, little is known regarding the source of this CRP and IL-6 increase. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between CRP and IL-6 levels with pre-eclampsia considering different confounding factors. Read More

Biol Sex Differ 2020 May 11;11(1):26. Epub 2020 May 11.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Background: Since the placenta also has a sex, fetal sex-specific differences in the occurrence of placenta-mediated complications could exist.

Objective: To determine the association of fetal sex with multiple maternal pregnancy complications.

Search Strategy: Six electronic databases Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, Web-of-Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar were systematically searched to identify eligible studies. Read More

Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2020 May 10. Epub 2020 May 10.

Fetal Medicine Research Institute, King's College Hospital, London, UK.

Background: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a significant contributor to maternal and perinatal adverse outcome, however accurate prediction and early diagnosis of this condition remain a challenge.

Objectives: To compare serum levels of growth-differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) at three different gestational ages between asymptomatic women who subsequently developed preterm or term PE and healthy controls.

Methods: This was a case-control study drawn from a prospective observational study for adverse pregnancy outcomes in women attending for their routine second and third trimester hospital visits. Read More

Pregnancy Hypertens 2020 Apr 22;21:35-37. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

Women's Health Academic Centre, St Thomas' Hospital, King's College London, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

We aimed to establish a rule-in threshold for the DELFIA Xpress placental growth factor (PlGF) 1-2-3 test. Plasma EDTA samples from 305 women presenting with suspected pre-eclampsia before 35 weeks' gestation were analysed using three different PlGF-based tests: PlGF 1-2-3 test (Perkin Elmer); Triage PlGF test (Quidel); Elecsys immunoassay sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (Roche). The rule-in threshold for PlGF 1-2-3 test created with equivalent specificity of the Quidel and Roche tests was 50 pg/ml. Read More

Periodontol 2000 2020 Jun;83(1):175-188

Division of Periodontology & Endodontology, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Health Sciences, University of Hokkaido, Hokkaido, Japan.

Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) have been defined as (a) pre-term birth, when there is a delivery before 37 completed weeks (<259 days); (b) pre-eclampsia, which is a multisystem disorder of pregnancy characterized by maternal hypertension and proteinuria after the 20th gestational week; (c) low and very low birthweight, depending on whether the weight of the baby is less of 2500 g or <1500 g and (d) the spontaneous death of the fetus with <20 weeks (miscarriage) or between 20 and 36 weeks (stillbirth). In 2012, during the Consensus Report from the Joint EFP/AAP workshop on periodontitis and systematic diseases the role of periodontal diseases on APOs was reviewed. Some years later, this evidence has grown, and an update on the literature regarding the mechanisms related to this potential association (APOs and periodontal diseases) needs to be presented. Read More

BJOG 2020 May 8. Epub 2020 May 8.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, UK.

Brunelli et al (BJOG 2020) evaluated a previously validated maternal history -based risk score in a multicentric retrospective cohort from Italy. The risk score discriminated poorly in this study (AUC=0.659 [95% CI 0. Read More

J Cell Physiol 2020 May 7. Epub 2020 May 7.

Cytotherapy Laboratory, The Second Clinical Medical College (Shenzhen People's Hospital), Jinan University, Shenzhen, China.

Accumulated evidence has shown that pre-eclampsia (PE) is related to both maternal and utero-placental antiangiogenesis and inflammation. Remarkably, an elevated cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) level has been found in maternal circulation; however, it remains unclear whether this DNA can induce activation of cytosolic DNA sensor signaling pathways and lead to the development of PE. In this study, we found that trophoblast cells constitutively expressed the cytosolic DNA sensors, absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) and interferon-inducible protein 16 (IFI16). Read More

J Am Coll Cardiol 2020 May;75(18):2335-2337

Cardiology Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Cardiovascular Research Center and Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.

J Am Coll Cardiol 2020 May;75(18):2323-2334

Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota.

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are associated with increased risks for cardiovascular disease later in life. The HDP incidence is commonly assessed using diagnostic codes, which are not reliable; and typically are expressed per-pregnancy, which may underestimate the number of women with an HDP history after their reproductive years.

Objectives: This study sought to determine the incidence of HDP expressed as both per-pregnancy and per-woman, and to establish their associations with future chronic conditions and multimorbidity, a measure of accelerated aging, in a population-based cohort study. Read More

Hum Reprod Update 2020 May 7. Epub 2020 May 7.

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Background: Neurotrophins of the nerve growth factor family are soluble polypeptides that are best known for their role in nerve growth, survival and differentiation in the central nervous system. A growing body of literature shows that neurotrophins and their receptors are also expressed throughout the reproductive tract.

Objective And Rationale: Neurotrophins are key regulatory proteins in reproductive physiology during development and throughout adult life. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 May 6. Epub 2020 May 6.

Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid, Campus Box 8086, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.

Compare echocardiographic phenotypes of women presenting with peripartum heart failure. A retrospective case-control study of pregnant women (n = 86) presenting with PP-HF symptoms (i.e. Read More

Zhonghua Fu Chan Ke Za Zhi 2020 Apr;55(4):227-238

J Glob Health 2020 Jun;10(1):01041310

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands.

Background: Although maternal near miss (MNM) is often considered a 'great save' because the woman survived life-threatening complications, these complications may have resulted in loss of a child or severe neonatal morbidity. The objective of this study was to assess proportion of perinatal mortality (stillbirths and early neonatal deaths) in a cohort of women with MNM in eastern Ethiopia. In addition, we compared perinatal outcomes among women who fulfilled the World Health Organization (WHO) and the sub-Saharan African (SSA) MNM criteria. Read More

BJOG 2020 May 5. Epub 2020 May 5.

Departamento Materno infantil, Hospital General de Agudos Dr. Juan A. Fernández, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Int J Mol Sci 2020 May 2;21(9). Epub 2020 May 2.

Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wroclaw, 50-383 Wroclaw, Poland.

Detection of podocytes in urine might serve as a useful diagnostic tool in both primary and secondary glomerular diseases. The utility of podocyturia has been confirmed for both pre-eclampsia and glomerulonephritis. Here, we present a new and sensitive method for qualitative LC-MS-multiple-reaction-monitoring (MRM) analysis of podocin, serving as a podocyturia biomarker in urine sediments. Read More

Biochem Soc Trans 2020 May 5. Epub 2020 May 5.

Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.

Cholesterol is a major nutrient required for fetal growth. It is also a precursor for the synthesis of steroid hormones and essential for the development and maturation of fetal organs. During pregnancy, the placenta controls the transport of cholesterol from the mother to the fetus and vice versa. Read More

Nat Microbiol 2020 May 4. Epub 2020 May 4.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Pre-eclampsia (typically characterized by new-onset hypertension and proteinuria in the second half of pregnancy) represents a major determinant of the global burden of disease. Its pathophysiology involves placental dysfunction, but the mechanism is unclear. Viral infection can cause organ dysfunction, but its role in placentally related disorders of human pregnancy is unknown. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Apr 30;17(9). Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Nemours Children's Health System, Wilmington, DE 19802, USA.

Racial/ethnic disparities in infant mortality (IM) continue to persist in the United States, with Black/African Americans (AA) being disproportionally affected with a three-fold increase in mortality compared to Whites. Epidemiological data have identified maternal characteristics in IM risk such as preeclampsia, eclampsia, maternal education, smoking, maternal weight, maternal socioeconomic status (SES), and family structure. Understanding the social gradient in health including implicit bias, as inherent in the method of labor and delivery and the racial heterogeneity, may facilitate intervention mapping in narrowing the Black-White IM risk differences. Read More

Endocrine 2020 May 3. Epub 2020 May 3.

Washington University School of Medicine, Section of Minimally Invasive Surgery, St. Louis, MO, USA.

Gynecol Obstet Fertil Senol 2020 Apr 30. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Service de gynécologie obstétrique, centre hospitalier universitaire de Nantes, 44093 Nantes cedex 1, France.

Objective: To synthesize knowledge on the consequences of active smoking in pregnancy.

Methods: The MedLine database, the Cochrane Library and French and foreign guidelines from 1999 to 2019 have been consulted.

Results: Active maternal smoking is associated with an increased risk of first trimester complications such as early miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy with a dose-effect relationship between smoking and those risks. Read More

Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2020 May 2;5:CD012852. Epub 2020 May 2.

Department of Vascular Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Background: Aspirin and heparin are widely used as preventive strategy to reduce the high risk of recurrent pregnancy loss in women with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). This review supersedes a previous, out-of-date review that evaluated all potential therapies for preventing recurrent pregnancy loss in women with aPL. The current review focusses on a narrower scope because current clinical practice is restricted to using aspirin or heparins, or both for women with aPL in an attempt to reduce pregnancy complications. Read More

R I Med J (2013) 2020 May 1;103(4):42-45. Epub 2020 May 1.

Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Providence, RI.

Background: Simulation in medical education is a well-accepted educational modality that allows for practice of high risk, low frequency events. The Obstetric Emergencies for Emergency Medicine course was developed to prepare trainees for challenging scenarios.

Methods: Six clinical scenarios were chosen: spontaneous vaginal delivery, neonatal resuscitation, pre- eclampsia, neonatal resuscitation with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), shoulder dystocia and postpartum hemorrhage. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2020 Apr 26;10(5). Epub 2020 Apr 26.

Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, ASST Fatebenefratelli Sacco, University of Milan, Via G. B. Grassi, 74, 20157 Milan, Italy.

Oocyte donations (OD) represent 4.5% of all in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. While OD pregnancies face increased risks of obstetrical complications, especially pregnancy-induced hypertension and pre-eclampsia (PE), little is known about the physiology and the physiopathology of placentation. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2020 Apr 26;21(9). Epub 2020 Apr 26.

National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology named after Academician V.I. Kulakov of the Ministry of Health of Russian Federation, 117997 Moscow, Russia.

Today pre-eclampsia (PE) is considered as a disease of various theories; still all of them agree that endothelial dysfunction is the leading pathogenic factor. Endothelial dysfunction is a sequence of permanent immune activation, resulting in the change of both the phenotype and the functions of an endothelial cell and of the extracellular layer associated with the cell membrane-endothelial glycocalyx (eGC). Numerous studies demonstrate that eGC mediates and regulates the key functions of endothelial cells including regulation of vascular tone and thromboresistance; and these functions are disrupted during PE. Read More