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Pregnancy Hypertens 2022 Jun 17;29:54-60. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan; Division of Perinatology, Center for Maternal-Neonatal Care, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the impact of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) on short- and medium-term respiratory outcomes in extremely and very preterm infants using the Neonatal Research Network of Japan database.

Study Design: This was a population-based retrospective study of preterm infants weighing ≤ 1500 g born between 22 and 31 weeks of gestation between 2003 and 2017. After 1:1 stratification matching by four factors (maternal age, gestational age, parity, and year of delivery), a total of 5137 infants in each group (HDP and non-HDP groups) were selected. Read More

Womens Health (Lond) 2022 Jan-Dec;18:17455057221103993

Ghent University International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent, Belgium.

Objectives: To explore whether community health worker household-based maternal health visits improve antenatal care and skilled birth attendance among hard-to-reach fishing villages on Lake Victoria, Uganda.

Methods: This quasi-experimental 18-month prospective study involved 486 consenting women aged 15-49 years, who were pregnant or had a pregnancy outcome in the past 6 months, from 6 island fishing communities. The community health worker household-based intervention (community health workers' household visits to provide counseling, blood pressure measurement, anemia, and HIV testing) involved 243 women from three fishing communities. Read More

Int J Womens Health 2022 17;14:797-804. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Seventh Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Background: A series of studies has shown that lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is closely associated with abnormal lipid metabolism and vascular endothelial cell injury, but its role in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) remains unclear. This study aims to determine the relationship between placental and serum LP-PLA2 levels and HDP, and to provide a feasible method for predicting HDP.

Methods: The placental and serum Lp-PLA2 levels of 63 patients with HDP (20, 25, and 18 cases with gestational hypertension, mild preeclampsia, and severe preeclampsia, respectively) and 20 women with normal pregnancies (control group) were measured via a combination of tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry, real-time quantitative RT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Read More

Exp Ther Med 2022 Jul 20;24(1):459. Epub 2022 May 20.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China.

Obesity in pregnant mothers often leads to a range of obstetric complications, including miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension and diabetes. C1q/TNF-related protein 9 (CTRP9) is an adipokine with an anti-inflammatory effect. The aim of the present study was to identify the role of CTRP9 in the pathogenesis of maternal obesity during pregnancy. Read More

Medicina (Kaunas) 2022 Jun 10;58(6). Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Faculty of Medicine, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Eftimie Murgu Square No.2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania.

The consumption of dietary supplements has increased over the last decades among pregnant women, becoming an efficient resource of micronutrients able to satisfy their nutritional needs during pregnancy. Furthermore, gestational drug administration might be necessary to treat several pregnancy complications such as hypertension. Folic acid (FA) and folate (FT) supplementation is highly recommended by clinicians during pregnancy, especially for preventing neural tube birth defects, while labetalol (LB) is a β-blocker commonly administered as a safe option for the treatment of pregnancy-related hypertension. Read More

J Clin Med 2022 Jun 14;11(12). Epub 2022 Jun 14.

Néphrologie et Dialyse, Centre Hospitalier Le Mans, 194 Avenue Rubillard, 72037 Le Mans, France.

About 5-10% of pregnancies are complicated by one of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. The women who experience these disorders have a greater risk of having or developing kidney diseases than women with normotensive pregnancies. While international guidelines do not provide clear indications for a nephrology work-up after pregnancy, this is increasingly being advised by nephrology societies. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2022 Jun 7;23(12). Epub 2022 Jun 7.

School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA.

The receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a receptor that is thought to be a key driver of inflammation in pregnancy, SARS-CoV-2, and also in the comorbidities that are known to aggravate these afflictions. In addition to this, vulnerable populations are particularly susceptible to the negative health outcomes when these afflictions are experienced in concert. RAGE binds a number of ligands produced by tissue damage and cellular stress, and its activation triggers the proinflammatory transcription factor Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-κB), with the subsequent generation of key proinflammatory cytokines. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Jun 16;19(12). Epub 2022 Jun 16.

2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Center of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-809 Warsaw, Poland.

Placental syndromes include pregnancy loss, fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, preterm delivery, premature rupture of membranes, placental abruption and intrauterine fetal demise. This paper discusses the common etiopathogenesis of those syndromes and the role of angiogenic biomarkers in their development. Pregnancy implantation, placental development and maternal adaptation are complex processes in which fetal and maternal cells interact. Read More

J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2022 Jun 18;9(6). Epub 2022 Jun 18.

Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10467, USA.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a female predominant disease, carries a high maternal and fetal mortality in pregnancy despite improved insight and the development of novel therapies. The high risk is attributed to the adaptive changes that take place to promote healthy fetal development during pregnancy, which can adversely affect the already compromised right ventricle in patients with PAH. While in the prior era emphasis was placed on termination of pregnancy, here we will illustrate through a multidisciplinary approach and meticulous planning at an expert center, these high-risk women can undergo successful childbirth. Read More

J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2022 Jun 18;9(6). Epub 2022 Jun 18.

Pulmonary Hypertension, Right Heart Failure, CTEPH Program, Temple Heart and Vascular Institute, Department of Medicine, Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19197, USA.

(1) Background: In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), pregnancy is regarded a contraindication due to high maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. We report our experience in the management of pregnancies in PAH. (2) Methods: retrospective observational study in a nationally accredited pulmonary hypertension (PH) center from 2013 to 2021. Read More

J Cardiovasc Dev Dis 2022 Jun 4;9(6). Epub 2022 Jun 4.

Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 600 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.

Diabetes mellitus (pregestational (PDM) and gestational (GDM)) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs). However, studies exploring the association of APOs with maternal glycemia among women without PDM/GDM are limited. We utilized data from 4119 women (307-PDM; 582-GDM; 3230-non-PDM/GDM) in the Boston Birth Cohort (1998-2016). Read More

Acta Clin Croat 2021 Dec;60(4):641-650

1University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia; 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Novi Sad, Serbia; 3Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases of Vojvodina, Sremska Kamenica, Serbia; 4Institute of Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina, Sremska Kamenica, Serbia.

The study aimed to determine if the non-dipping pattern of blood pressure (BP) influences preterm delivery in gestational hypertension (GH), but also maternal clinical findings and birth weight. Sixty women with GH, i.e. Read More

Front Genet 2022 6;13:830446. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Guangxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Exposomics and Entire Lifecycle Health, Guangxi Health Commission Key Laboratory of Entire Lifecycle Health and Care, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.

The involvement of oxidative stress in the pathological process of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) gives rise to the interest in exploring the association of genetic variations in antioxidant metallothionein () genes with HDP susceptibility. Seventeen single-nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) in genes were selected to conduct genotyping based on a case-control study consisting of 371 HDP cases (pregnancy with chronic hypertension (66), gestational hypertension (172), and preeclampsia or preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension (133)) and 479 controls. The association between SNPs in and the risk of HDP was estimated with unconditional logistic regression analysis and further tested with the false-positive report probability (FPRP) procedure. Read More

J Obstet Gynaecol India 2022 Jun 23;72(3):201-207. Epub 2021 Jun 23.

Department of Maternal and Reproductive Health, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.

Abstract: Renal disease has always been a challenge for the treating obstetrician. With new advances in the management of renal disease, an increasing number of patients can continue the pregnancy and with individualization have a better outcome.

Material And Methods: To analyze the pregnancy outcomes in renal disease, a retrospective cohort observational study over 5 years at a tertiary care institute in northern India was done. Read More

Pan Afr Med J 2022 24;41:243. Epub 2022 Mar 24.

Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaakob Latif, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, 56000, Malaysia.

Introduction: healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of acquiring COVID-19 occupational transmission and subsequently, exposing patients and others. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and examine the characteristics and predictors of HCWs with COVID-19 infection in a Malaysian district.

Methods: this is a cross-sectional study of HCWs working at Cheras District Health Office, with COVID-19 infection from 1 January to 31 October 2021. Read More

Front Physiol 2022 6;13:924908. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Department of Anesthesiology, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, United States.

Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that causes significant, long term cardiovascular effects for both the mother and offspring. A previous study demonstrated that middle cerebral arteries in offspring from an experimental rat model of preeclampsia were smaller, stiffer, and did not enlarge over the course of maturation, suggesting potential hemodynamic alterations in these offspring. Here we investigated the effect of experimental preeclampsia on cerebral blood flow autoregulation in juvenile and adult offspring that were born from normal pregnant or experimentally preeclamptic rats. Read More

J Endocr Soc 2022 Aug 29;6(8):bvac085. Epub 2022 May 29.

Department of Endocrinology and Hypertension, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan.

During pregnancy, there is no established treatment for idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA), the most common form of primary aldosteronism due to bilateral adrenal hyperplasia. Here, we report the case of a pregnant patient with IHA who was successfully treated with esaxerenone, a nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonist. A 39-year-old woman was diagnosed with IHA and commenced on nifedipine 20 mg daily because she desired to be pregnant. Read More

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2022 6;13:878853. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine Gynecology, Changhai Hospital, Shanghai, China.

Purpose: This work aimed to evaluate the adverse effect of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) on pregnancy outcomes of singletons after vitrification in women with frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET).

Methods: Patients with/without PCOS who underwent FET from January 2013 and December 2018 were included. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to reduce the influence of bias. Read More

Open Med (Wars) 2022 31;17(1):1007-1018. Epub 2022 May 31.

Department of Nutrition, Hebei Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Health, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050031, China.

Pregnant women are more susceptible to smog pollution than the general population. This study focused on the association between smog and birth outcomes, considering both pregnant mothers and their offspring. In this retrospective study, conducted in Baoding between 2013 and 2016, we enrolled 842 participants. Read More

Cureus 2022 May 18;14(5):e25096. Epub 2022 May 18.

Internal Medicine, BronxCare Health System, Bronx, USA.

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a rare but severe form of thrombotic microangiopathies (TMAs) that affects both children and adults. The clinical presentation is usually nonspecific, including a broad spectrum of symptoms ranging from abdominal pain, confusion, diarrhea, fatigue, irritability, hypertension, and lethargy. We present a case of a 36-year-old woman with medical comorbidities of asthma and pulmonary embolism who presented to our hospital in the 36th week of her pregnancy for preterm premature rupture of the membranes. Read More

BMJ 2022 Jun 22;377:e070603. Epub 2022 Jun 22.

University of Queensland, School of Public Health, Queensland, Australia

Objective: To examine the associations of infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and stillbirth with the risk of first non-fatal and fatal stroke, further stratified by stroke subtypes.

Design: Individual participant pooled analysis of eight prospective cohort studies.

Setting: Cohort studies across seven countries (Australia, China, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States) participating in the InterLACE (International Collaboration for a Life Course Approach to Reproductive Health and Chronic Disease Events) consortium, which was established in June 2012. Read More

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2022 Jan;26(11):3967-3972

Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, International Doctorate School in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Mother-Infant Department, Policlinic Hospital, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.

Objective: Obesity is a risk factor for the development of gestational hypertension, with important consequences for both the mother and fetus. This prospective observational study aims to propose an early prediction model of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy among obese women, through the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) at the first trimester, thus allowing early recognition of obese women that are at risk to develop gestational hypertension, in order to target preventive interventions.

Patients And Methods: Singleton obese women (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) between the 9th and 12th week of pregnancy were included in the study. Read More

Eur Heart J 2022 Jun 21. Epub 2022 Jun 21.

Department of Cardiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rg-435 - P.O. Box: 2040, Rotterdam, 3000 CA, The Netherlands.

Aims: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) occur in 10% of pregnancies in the general population, pre-eclampsia specifically in 3-5%. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy may have a high prevalence in, and be poorly tolerated by, women with heart disease.

Methods And results: The prevalence and outcomes of HDP (chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia) were assessed in the ESC EORP ROPAC (n = 5739), a worldwide prospective registry of pregnancies in women with heart disease. Read More

Hypertens Res 2022 Jun 20. Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy increase the risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. In 2018, the Japanese classification of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was standardized with those of other countries, and a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy was considered to be present if hypertension existed during pregnancy and up to 12 weeks after delivery. Strategies for the prevention of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy have become much clearer, but further research is needed on appropriate subjects and methods of administration, and these have not been clarified in Japan. Read More

Ann Indian Acad Neurol 2008 Jan;11(Suppl 1):S79-S87

Department of Neurology, EA2691, Stroke Unit, Lille University Hospital, Lille,, France.

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) has a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations that may mimic many other neurological disorders and lead to misdiagnoses. Headache is the most common symptom and may be associated with other symptoms or remain isolated. The other frequent manifestations are focal neurological deficits and diffuse encephalopathies with seizures. Read More

Telemed Rep 2021 24;2(1):125-134. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA.

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a leading cause of U.S. maternal morbidity and mortality. Read More

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2022 Jun 17;22(1):497. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Department of Anesthesiology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan.

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is defined as an idiopathic cardiomyopathy occurring in the last month of pregnancy or the first 6 months postpartum without an identifiable cause. PPCM is suspected to be triggered by the generation of a cardiotoxic fragment of prolactin and the secretion of a potent antiangiogenic protein from the placental, but no single factor has been identified or defined as the underlying cause of the disease. Influenza virus can cause PPCM through immune-mediated response induced by proinflammatory cytokines from host immunity and endothelial cell dysfunction. Read More

Hypertens Res 2022 Jun 17. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Department of Pharmacy, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital, 1-12-1 Fukumuro, Miyagino-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 983-8512, Japan.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy cause maternal organ damage. Therefore, appropriate management with antihypertensive medication is required from the first trimester. We aimed to clarify the antihypertensive drug prescription trends in pregnant women with hypertension in Japan. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 Jun 20;12(1):10358. Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science, Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.

Monocytes derive from bone marrow and circulate in the blood. They phagocytose, produce cytokines and present antigens. Individual monocyte subsets play distinct roles in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease, but their implications in gestational hypertensive disease are unclear. Read More

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2022 Jun 20;22(1):500. Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Background: Preeclampsia is a multisystem disorder characterized by an abnormal vascular response to placentation associated with increased systemic vascular resistance. As liver involvement is one of the main clinical features of preeclampsia, we sought to determine if there is an association between chronic liver diseases and preeclampsia.

Methods: A retrospective matched case-control analysis was conducted in a tertiary medical center. Read More