Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Placenta 2021 May 5;109:64-71. Epub 2021 May 5.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China. Electronic address:

Introduction: Pre-eclampsia is characterized by insufficient spiral artery remodeling, and trophoblast dysfunction plays an important role in this process. Noncoding RNAs (microRNAs (miRNAs) and long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) are included) can regulate trophoblasts. MicroRNA-210 (miR-210) can decrease trophoblast cell migration and invasion and may act as a biomarker for preeclampsia. Read More

Placenta 2021 May 5;109:55-63. Epub 2021 May 5.

Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of Obstetrics, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address:

Introduction: The objectives of this study were to describe the histo-morphology of post-date placentas in clinically uncomplicated pregnancies without adverse delivery outcomes and the association with maternal circulating pre-delivery Placental Growth Factor (PlGF) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), as well as the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio.

Methods: Post-date placentas (gestational week ≥40, n = 87) were macroscopically and histo-morphologically assessed according to the international, standardized Amsterdam Workshop Consensus Group criteria. Inter-rater agreement was evaluated by percentage of agreement. Read More

Thromb Res 2021 Apr 27;203:101-109. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Russian Federation; Department of Haematology, CHU Nîmes, Univ Montpellier, Nîmes, France; Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences, Montpellier University, Montpellier, France; UA 011 INSERM- Université de Montpellier, Institut Desbrest d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Montpellier, France. Electronic address:

Introduction: Women with obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome (oAPS) still develop placental diseases, mainly pre-eclampsia (PEcl), which diagnosis is associated with reduced ADAMTS13 levels. Testing ADAMTS13 in newly pregnant oAPS may provide evidence for risk stratification.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively investigated the prognostic value of ADAMTS13 activity, antigen and antibodies on stored plasma samples obtained prior to beginning low-molecular weight heparin-low dose aspirin treatment in 513 oAPS women. Read More

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2021 May 5;262:36-39. Epub 2021 May 5.

Ministry of Health Ankara City Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Turkey.

Objective: The perineal body is critical for maintaining the integrity of the pelvic floor, especially in females as it can be injured during vaginal delivery. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of childbirth on perineal body dimensions by using a transperineal 2D ultrasound.

Study Design: This prospective cohort study was performed in a tertiary obstetric care center. Read More

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2021 May 5;262:28-35. Epub 2021 May 5.

Nuova Villa Claudia, Radiology Department, Via Flaminia Nuova 280, 00191, Rome, Italy; Polizia di Stato, Centro Clinico di Medicina Preventiva e Medicina Legale, Via Mamiani 2, Roma, Italy.

Pregnancy related transient osteoporosis of the hip (PR-TOH) is a rare condition that manifests with sudden pain located in the groin region, anterior thigh and buttocks. It is a benign and in the majority of cases self-limiting disease, related to bone marrow oedema. It occurs during the third trimester of pregnancy or less frequently during the post-partum period. Read More

J Affect Disord 2021 Apr 30;290:15-22. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Catholic University of Pelotas, Brazil; PQ CNPq, Brazil.

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) affects a high number of women, often the first manifestation of a mood disorder that will occur later in life, bringing serious consequences for the patient and her offspring. Depression today is the leading cause of disability worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a preventive cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for PPD. Read More

Complement Ther Clin Pract 2021 May 6;44:101414. Epub 2021 May 6.

Arizona State University, College of Health Solutions, 500 N 3rd St., Mail Code 3020, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA. Electronic address:

Purpose: To describe pregnant women's experiences and perceived facilitators/barriers of a prenatal yoga intervention to prevent excessive gestational weight gain (EGWG).

Methods: Pregnant women (N = 13) were interviewed after participation in a 12-week prenatal yoga intervention to prevent EGWG. Interviews were summarized using thematic analysis. Read More

Environ Int 2021 May 11;156:106618. Epub 2021 May 11.

College of Environment and Resource, Research Center of Environment and Health, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, PR China.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy can induce permanent changes in neonatal inflammation, which will result in lifelong implications. An original study of data from GSE96978, composed of 2 subseries (GSE96976 and GSE96977), investigated genome-wide changes in ELT cells, the lungs of mouse dams and their juvenile offspring and focused on finding an in vitro alternative as a human tissue-based replacement for the use of animals. Therefore, the study only analyzed the similarities of GO terms between ELT cells and dams. Read More

J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Geneva University Hospitals, Department of Woman, Child and Adolescent, Catherine McCarey, Department of Woman, Child and Adolescent, Geneva University Hospitals, 30, boulevard de la Cluse, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.

The FertiStat (fertility status awareness) tool provides personalized advice on reducing risk factors for infertility and seeking medical advice based on lifestyle and reproductive profile.

Study Objective: The aim of our research was to test the FertiStat tool in younger patients (14-24 years). A secondary objective was to screen for and evaluate knowledge of risk factors impacting fertility. Read More

J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, Hershey, PA, USA.

Study Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the rate of incidental pregnancy, pregnancy screening frequency, and factors associated with pregnancy screening in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study.

Setting: The research was conducted at Penn State Health Children's Hospital evaluating PICU admissions between January 1st, 2011 to January 31st, 2019. Read More

Brain Behav Immun 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH USA; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH USA; Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH USA; Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH USA; Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH USA. Electronic address:

Maternal infection during pregnancy is a known risk factor for offspring mental health disorders. Animal models of maternal immune activation (MIA) have implicated specific cellular and molecular etiologies of psychiatric illness, but most rely on pathogen mimetics. Here, we developed a mouse model of live H3N2 influenza A virus (IAV) infection during pregnancy that induces a robust inflammatory response but is sublethal to both dams and offspring. Read More

Mol Cell Endocrinol 2021 May 11:111319. Epub 2021 May 11.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Sciences, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.

Aims: Infants born to women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) are at risk of being born large for gestational age due to excess fetal fat accretion. Placental nutrient transport determines fetal nutrient availability, impacting fetal growth. The aims of the study were to evaluate the effect of T2DM on placental insulin signaling, placental nutrient transporters and neonatal adiposity. Read More

Environ Res 2021 May 11:111317. Epub 2021 May 11.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment.

Exposure to ozone has been linked to reproductive outcomes, including preterm birth. In this systematic review, we summarize published epidemiologic cohort and case-control studies examining ozone exposures (estimated on a continuous scale) in early pregnancy (1 and 2 trimesters (T1, T2)) and preterm birth using ratio measures, and perform a meta-analysis to evaluate the potential relationship between them. Studies were identified by searching PubMed and Web of Science, screened according to predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria, and evaluated for study quality. Read More

Clin Chim Acta 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Institute of Clinical Biochemistry, Clinical Molecular Medicine and Laboratory Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital "P. Giaccone", Palermo, Italy. Electronic address:

Background And Aims: Glycated albumin (GA) could represent a useful biomarker in pregnant women for diagnosing and monitoring gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The establishment of reference intervals (RI) is mandatory before assessing its clinical usefulness. The RIs of GA in healthy pregnant women are not well defined. Read More

Lancet Oncol 2021 May 11. Epub 2021 May 11.

Department of Oncology and Haematology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, IRCCS, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy.

Background: Patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who do not respond to or who have progressive disease after salvage therapies have a poor prognosis. Loncastuximab tesirine is a CD19-directed antibody-drug conjugate with encouraging phase 1 single-agent antitumour activity and acceptable safety in non-Hodgkin lymphoma. We aimed to evaluate the antitumour activity and safety of loncastuximab tesirine in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL. Read More

PLoS One 2021 14;16(5):e0251734. Epub 2021 May 14.

Center for Maternal-Fetal, Neonatal and Reproductive Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan.

Background: Although low birth weight in Japan has slightly increased over the past several decades, the association between maternal birth weight and pregnancy outcomes remains poorly understood.

Methods: In this hospital-based, prospective cohort study conducted at the National Center for Child Health and Development, we obtained information on pregnant women's birth weight via their maternal and child health handbook. We analyzed 944 women born at term after dividing them into five categories according to their birth weight: <2500 g, 2500-2999 g, 3000-3499 g, 3500-3999 g, and ≥4000 g. Read More

PLoS One 2021 14;16(5):e0251609. Epub 2021 May 14.

Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wachemo University, Hosanna, Southern Ethiopia.

Background: Neonates with severe complications at birth or during the neonatal period who nearly died but survived constitute neonatal near miss (NNM) cases. Identifying NNM cases and correcting contributing factors are of the utmost importance to get relevant controls for neonatal deaths. However, limited studies are assessing the prevalence of NNM and associated factors with NNM cases in Ethiopia. Read More

Chin Med J (Engl) 2021 May 13. Epub 2021 May 13.

Department of Prenatal Diagnosis, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210004, China Center of Genetic Medicine, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210004, China.

Background: One inevitable shortcoming of non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS)/cell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequencing is the uninterpretable ("no-call") result, which is mainly caused by an insufficient fetal fraction. This study was performed to investigate the factors associated with a successful second NIPS in these cases and determine the optimal management for women with initial no-call results.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of women who underwent NIPS with initial no-call results due to an insufficient fetal fraction from 2017 to 2019 in our center. Read More

Anesth Analg 2021 May 14. Epub 2021 May 14.

From the Centre for Epidemiology and Statistics Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS), Paris University, Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team, EPOPé, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Paris, France.

Background: Severe acute maternal morbidity (SAMM) accounts for any life-threatening complication during pregnancy or after delivery. Measuring and monitoring SAMM seem critical to assessing the quality of maternal health care. The objectives were to explore the validity of intensive care unit (ICU) admission as an indicator of SAMM by characterizing the profile of women admitted to an ICU and of their ICU stay, according to the association with other SAMM criterion. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2021 May 14:1-10. Epub 2021 May 14.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.

: Vaccine hesitancy has been recognized as an urgent public health issue. We aimed to explore the acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine and related factors among pregnant women, a vulnerable population for vaccine-preventable diseases. A multi-center cross-sectional study among pregnant women was conducted in five provinces of mainland China from November 13 to 27, 2020. Read More

Environ Health Perspect 2021 May 14;129(5):57006. Epub 2021 May 14.

Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology Program, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Background: Studies have evaluated environmental exposure to toxic metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), or lead (Pb) on birth size; however, information on potential effects of exposures to metal mixtures is limited.

Objectives: We assessed the association between metal mixtures (As, Cd, Mn, Pb) in umbilical cord blood and neonate size in Bangladeshi children.

Methods: In this birth cohort study, pregnant women who were of age with an ultrasound-confirmed singleton pregnancy of gestation were recruited from two Bangladesh clinics between 2008 and 2011. Read More

Br J Radiol 2021 May 14:20200940. Epub 2021 May 14.

Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK.

Objectives: Fetal "black bone" MRI could be useful in the diagnosis of various skeletal conditions during pregnancy without exposure to ionising radiation. Previously suggested Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging (SWI) is not available in the suggested form on all scanners leading to long imaging times that are susceptible to motion artefacts. We aimed to assess if an optimised T2*-weighted GRE sequence can provide viable "black bone" contrast and compared it to other sequences in the literature. Read More

BJOG 2021 May 14. Epub 2021 May 14.

Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of structured contraceptive counselling on uptake of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), and pregnancy rates.

Design: Cluster randomised trial SETTING: Abortion, youth, and maternal health clinics in Stockholm, Sweden.

Population: Sexually active women ≥18 years without a wish for pregnancy seeking abortion and/or contraceptive counselling. Read More

Neurol Ther 2021 May 14. Epub 2021 May 14.

School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4027, Australia.

Over the past 50 years, published studies have provided quantitative data on the control of epileptic seizures during pregnancy. The studies have varied in quality, and particularly in the ways in which seizure control has been assessed. However, most studies have shown that seizure occurrence rates are more likely to worsen than improve during pregnancy, though in most pregnancies the rates have been unaltered. Read More

Immunol Res 2021 May 14. Epub 2021 May 14.

Department of General Surgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei Province, People's Republic of China.

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is an important intracellular signalling pathway that leads to increased expression of pro-inflammatory mediators. Our previous studies have shown that the p38 MAPK pathway was changed in the acute renal injury (ARI) in acute pancreatitis in late pregnancy (APIP), whereas the role of p38 MAPK in APIP-induced ARI has been poorly understood. The present study was undertaken to investigate the participation of the p38 MAPK signalling pathway and the protective effect of SB203580, an inhibitor of p38 MAPK in ARI in APIP. Read More

Int Urogynecol J 2021 May 14. Epub 2021 May 14.

Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, PB 4950, Nydalen, 0424, Oslo, Norway.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Pregnancy and delivery are known risk factors for stress and mixed urinary incontinence. The most common surgical treatment is mid-urethral sling (MUS) surgery. This study evaluated the potential impact of the obstetrical history on the short-term subjective and objective failure rates after MUS surgery. Read More

CVIR Endovasc 2021 May 14;4(1):40. Epub 2021 May 14.

Department of Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Ospedale San Giovanni Bosco, Torino, Italy.

Background: We report the use of a 4 mm vascular Amplatzer for the occlusion of a renal arterovenous fistula between the renal artery, at the hylum trifurcation point, and an aneurismatic vein draining into the main renal vein, where there was no possibility to use any other device from the venous side, because of the diameter and the high flow, neither from the arterious side without sacrificing lobar branches. The device was implanted at the exact point of communication, like a patent foramen ovale occluder, with the distal disc into the artery lumen and the other two proximal discs into the venous side.

Case Presentation: A 34-years-old Caucasian woman suffered several episodes of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia associated with dyspnoea, after the onset of post-pregnancy hypertension. Read More

J Clin Nurs 2021 May 14. Epub 2021 May 14.

Maternal, Newborn and Families Research Collaborative, Menzies Institute of Health Queensland, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

Aim And Objective: This study investigated the effects of social support, parenting stress and maternal self-efficacy on postpartum depression among adolescent mothers in Jordan.

Background: Adolescent pregnancy may have serious health, social and economic consequences for young women, families and communities. In Jordan, the incidence of adolescent pregnancy has increased from 5% in 2012 to 15% in 2018. Read More

Acta Biomed 2021 May 12;92(2):e2021050. Epub 2021 May 12.

Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Obstetric and Gynaecology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.

A single case of ultrasonographic-guided local injection of methotrexate for managing scar pregnancy is reported. The outcome was successful and had no side effects. The case was reported to increase the evidence supporting this type of management. Read More

Proc Nutr Soc 2021 May 14:1-33. Epub 2021 May 14.

Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, College of Science, Engineering and Food Science, University College Cork, Ireland.