The extension products of all assays were then resolved and detected by the MassARRAY(TM) Analyzer Compact Mass Spectrometer (Bruker), a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight ...(MALDI-TOF) system (4). Forty-one women in the first trimester of pregnancy (gestational age range: 11-13 weeks) were recruited from the Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, with informed consent and institutional ethical approval.
This study aims to identify the existence of, and relationship between autoantibody clusters and clinical subsets in Chinese SLE patients.
Data from 1928 SLE patients from Hong Kong were analysed. ...Using cluster analysis, patients were grouped by autoantibodies into clusters. The frequencies of various clinical manifestations were then compared between each cluster. Separate association analyses between individual autoantibodies and clinical manifestations as well as between clinical manifestations were also performed without any prior clustering.
Three separate autoantibody clusters were identified, each with significantly different clinical manifestations. Cluster 1 was characterized by anti-dsDNA and the greatest prevalence of renal disorder but the lowest frequencies of other clinical manifestations. Cluster 2 was represented by the predominance of anti-Smith, anti-RNP and aPL, with greater prevalence of malar rash, oral ulcers, arthritis and serositis. Cluster 3 was characterized by anti-Ro and anti-La with greater prevalence of discoid rash, photosensitivity and haematological involvement. Individual association analysis also revealed similar findings. Patients of clusters 2 and 3 were more closely related, while cluster 1 was more distinct, associated with renal disorder only and negatively associated or not associated with other manifestations.
We conclude that autoantibody clustering and clinical subsets exist in SLE patients of our locality. These clusters may be viewed as a bipolar spectrum of related autoantibody and clinical manifestations. At one end are patients with over-representation of anti-dsDNA and renal disorder, while at the other end are two distinct autoantibody clusters (anti-Sm/anti-RNP/aPL and anti-Ro/anti-La) with overlapping of other clinical manifestations.
Background: Women's fear toward pregnancy and childbirth is a common and important health concern. This study examined the objects, causes, and manifestations of maternal fears and their associated ...demographic factors in a sample of Hong Kong Chinese pregnant women.
Methods: Three hundred Chinese pregnant women were recruited in an obstetric unit in Hong Kong in 2003. Data were collected using a 73-item questionnaire. Principal components factor analysis was applied to identify the objects, causes, and manifestations of fear toward pregnancy and childbirth.
Results: The mean maternal age was 30 (SD 5.6) years. All participants reported some degree of fear. The main objects of fear were "fear of childbirth" and "child's and mother's wellbeing." The first factor identified for causes of fear was "negative stories," followed by "negative attitude or mood." Regarding the various manifestations of fear, "stress symptoms" and "wish to avoid pregnancy and childbirth" ranked highest. Twenty-two percent of participants had considered requesting an elective cesarean section due to fear of childbirth.
Conclusions: Even in a group of low-risk pregnant women, fear toward pregnancy and childbirth was frequently experienced. Better strategies to address women's psychological needs during pregnancy are warranted.
Problem: Urocortin is produced by the placenta throughout pregnancy but its regulation remains unknown. The effect of hypoxia on placental urocortin production is not known. The aim of this study ...was to determine the effect of in vitro hypoxia on human trophoblastic urocortin production.
Method of study: Placental explants and primary cultures were incubated in anaerobe hypoxic bags for 24 h in a humidified incubator. Urocortin peptide secretion and mRNA (messenger RNA) production was determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Morphological and functional integrity was verified by immunohistochemical analysis of urocortin expression. Vascular endothelial growth factor expression was used to verify the generation of cellular hypoxia in our in vitro system.
Results: Hypoxia did not affect urocortin secretion or mRNA expression in explant and single‐cell cultures. Production was greater from first trimester than term explants and from single‐cell primary cultures more than from explant cultures.
Conclusions: Hypoxia does not influence human placental urocortin secretion or mRNA expression in vitro.
Presence of fetal RNA in maternal plasma POON, Leo L. M; LEUNG, Tse N; LAU, Tze K ...
Clinical chemistry (Baltimore, Md.),
11/2000, Letnik:
46, Številka:
11
Journal Article
The benefits of a single course of antenatal corticosteroids on neonatal outcomes are well established. There is, however, much controversy about how long this treatment should continue, and whether ...repeated courses should be administered if the women remain at risk for preterm delivery 7 days after the initial therapy. This review aims to discuss current evidence on the effectiveness and safety of repeated courses of antenatal corticosteroids.
Recently, much interest has been generated on the fetomaternal transfer of nucleated cells and plasma DNA. However, there has been no systematic quantitative comparison of these two directions and ...two modalities of trafficking within the same study population.
The fetus-to-mother transfer of nucleated cells and plasma DNA in pregnant women carrying male babies was studied using a real-time quantitative PCR assay for the S:RY gene. For mother-to-fetus transfer, real-time quantitative PCR assays for the insertion/deletion polymorphisms involving the glutathione S:-transferase M1 and angiotensin-converting enzyme genes were used.
Of the 50 informative mother-baby pairs, maternal DNA was detected in the cellular fraction of umbilical cord blood in 24% of cases (12 of 50), at a median fractional concentration of 2.6 x 10(-4) (interquartile range, 1.7 x 10(-4) to 3.6 x 10(-4)). In the plasma fraction of cord blood, maternal DNA was detected in 30% (15 of 50) of cases at a median fractional concentration of 3 x 10(-3) (interquartile range, 1 x 10(-3) to 1.6 x 10(-2)). For the other direction of trafficking, fetus-to-mother transfer of nucleated cells was detected in 26% of cases (13 of 50) at a median fractional concentration of 3.2 x 10(-4) (interquartile range, 0.6 x 10(-4) to 7.6 x 10(-4)). In the plasma fraction, fetal DNA was detected in 100% of maternal plasma (50 of 50) at a median fractional concentration of 3 x 10(-2) (interquartile range, 1.4 x 10(-2) to 5. 3 x 10(-2)).
This study indicated that significantly more fetal DNA is present in the plasma of pregnant women compared with DNA from the cellular fraction of maternal blood. In addition, maternal DNA was demonstrated in both the cellular and plasma fractions of cord blood after delivery. This study has therefore determined the fundamental quantitative values for the bidirectional fetomaternal cellular and plasma DNA traffic.
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