Maternal and cord blood leptin levels in normal pregnancies comparing to pregnancy induced hypertension: Relation to birth weight / 대한산부인과학회잡지

PURPOSE: Leptin, a product of the ob gene, is a 16-KDa protein that is mainly expressed in the adipose tissue and involved in the regulation of body weight. Elevated levels of serum leptin is noted in pregnant woman and the placenta is the site of nonadipose tissue production of leptin. In this study, we investigated the effect of serum leptin concentrations on fetal growth to estimate the effect of leptin on fetal growth. METHOD: Leptin concentrations were measured in venous and arterial cord blood and maternal serum at birth using a specific radioimmunoassay employing human recombinant leptin(Human Leptin RIA kit; Linco research, St. Louis, Mo). Thirty two full term pregnant women(n=32) had no medical complications and delivered the healthy babies(male=14, female=18). RESULTS: Serum leptin levels were 1.51 - 19,36 ng/ml(mean 7.16, SD 3.76) in arterial cord blood and 1.59 - 16.18(mean 7.47, SD 4.08) in venous cord blood and there was no difference between arterial and venous cord blood. Serum concentrations in arterial and venous cord blood were positively correlated with birth weight(r=0.7181, 0.6970; p<0.0001). There was no correlation in maternal BMI, maternal serum leptin and cord blood leptin concentrations. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that cord blood leptin independently contributes to fetal body weight regardless of maternal serum leptin and body weight.

A Case of Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome Diagnosed by Antenatal Ultrasonography / 대한산부인과학회잡지

Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome is a rare, sporadically occuring disorder characterized by hemihypertrophy (unilateral limb hypertrophy), varicose veins, hemangiomata and occasionally arteriovenous malformation. With the development of ultrasonography, this syndrome can be detected by antenatal sonography. We report a case of Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome that demonstrates huge mass with increased blood flow on left thigh detected by ultrasonography.

Correlation of prenatal renal parenchymal thickness with postnatal outcome of fetal hydronephrosis / 대한산부인과학회잡지

PURPOSE: The aims of this research are to correlate prenatal renal parenchymal thickness with postnatal outcome of fetal hydronephrosis, to establish the predictability of prenatal renal parenchymal thickness for surgical treatment and to apply this parameter to the evaluation and the follow-up of prenatal hydronephrosis. Material and METHOD: Between Jun 1991 and Jun 1998 we retrospectively identified 59 cases of fetal hydronephrosis in which renal pelvic anteroposterior diameter(PAPD) was greater than 10mm. Renal parenchymal thickness(RPT), renal pelvis anteroposterior diameter and renal anteroposterior diameter(RAPD) were measured on midtransverse from prenatal sonograms. The ability of these parameters to predict who would require surgical treatment was examined. The difference of these parameters in groups were compared using Wilcoxon rank sums analysis. RESULTS: 66.7% of fetuses with a renal parenchymal thickness lesser than 8mm and 71.4% of fetuses with a renal parenchymal thickness lesser than 6mm required surgical treatment. 33.3% of fetuses with an PAPD greater than 12mm and 45% of fetuses with an PAPD greater than 15mm required surgical treatment. 60% of fetuses with an ratio of PAPD/RAPD greater than 0.4 and 70% of fetuses with an ratio of PAPD/RAPD greater than 0.5 required surgical treatment. CONCLUSION: The research shows that RPT could be used as an useful parameter in the prediction of requirement of postnatal surgical treatment of fetal hydronephrosis ,in addition to the size of PAPD and the ratio of PAPD/RAPD which have been assumed as one of the most important parameters.

Apoptotic Change in Placenta of Pregnancy-induced Hypertension / 대한산부인과학회잡지

The mechanism of apoptosis was first discovered at the end of the 19th century, but it was only recently that its importance was recognized. Not only in a pathologic environment but also in a normal environment, apoptosis has an important role in homeostasis. The number of cells is restricted by apoptosis which is controlled by several SlgBS lll VlVO. In pregnancy, the placenta regulates the maternal-fetal exchange of molecules and functions as a barrier for the protection of the fetus. As the pregnancy proceeds, changes occur in the number and components of placental cells. Observing the placental tissues, apoptosis was found in the syncytiotrophoblasts of early and late pregnancy. In particular, the fact that apoptosis observed in the placenta of late pregnancy supports the hypothesis that pmgrammed cell death is a normal sequence. Pregnancy-induced hypertension is usually accompanied by abnormal placenta and intrauterine growth restriction. In this study, using the TdT-FragEL DNA fragmentation detection kit, the changes in the nucleus by apoptosis in the placental tissues of 23 to 40 gestational weeks in preeclampsia and eclampsia were compared with normal placenta. Apoptosis was observed in the normal term placenta and in pregnancy-induced hypertension patients, regardless of whether vasculopathy was observed in Doppler ultrasound or confirmed by pathology, more apoptoses were observed aside from the number of gestational weeks.