Vitamin C restores ovarian follicular reservation in a mouse model of aging / 대한해부학회지

Ovarian aging is related to the reduction of oocyte quality and ovarian follicles reservation leading to infertility. Vitamin C is a natural antioxidant which may counteract with adverse effects of aging in the ovary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible effect of vitamin C on NMRI mice ovarian aging according to the stereological study. In this experimental study, 36 adult female mice (25–30 g) were divided into two groups: control and vitamin C. Vitamin C (150 mg/kg/day) were administered by oral gavage for 33 weeks. Six animals of each group were sacrificed on week 8, 12, and 33, and right ovary samples were extracted for stereology analysis. Our data showed that the total volume of ovary, cortex, medulla and corpus luteum were significantly increased in vitamin C group in comparison to the control groups (P≤0.05). In addition, the total number of primordial, primary, secondary, and antral follicles as well as granulosa cells were improved in vitamin C group in compared to the control groups (P≤0.05). No significant difference was observed in total volume of oocytes in antral follicles between control and vitamin C groups. Our data showed that vitamin C could notably compensate undesirable effects of ovarian aging in a mouse model.

High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Yazd, a central province of Iran

Background: There is a growing concern about the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its relationship with variety of diseases worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its relationship with pregnancy adverse effects in Yazd

Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted among 200 nulliparous women from October 2013 to April 2014. Data containing socio-demographic and personal details, vitamin D level, pregnancy complications and growth situation of newborns were collected and analyzed using Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson's correlation coefficient by SPSS. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant

Results: The mean serum 1, 25 [OH][2]D[3] concentration was 20.3 +/- 10.8 micro g/l. Totally, 78% of the women had less than sufficient levels. Mean of vitamin D was significantly higher in natural or elective cesarean in comparison with abortion and emergency cesarean [p=0.040]. Risk of abortion was 3.1[1.39-6.8] and higher in severely deficient group in comparison to women with vitamin D deficiency [p=0.017] and mean of vitamin D group was significantly lower in women who had oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios complication [p=0.045]

Conclusion: The study findings revealed that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in pregnant women and it is significantly associated with elevated risk for abortion, and oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios. Probably, a targeted screening strategy can be suggested to detect and treat women at high risk of vitamin D deficiency in early pregnancy as a simple way to reduce the risk of these adverse pregnancy outcomes in Yazd

[Influence of placental removal method on the incidence of post-cesarean infections and operation duration]

Postpartum endometritis is 1-8% and cesarean section is one of its risk factor. The present study was performed to compare the effect of manual removal and spontaneous delivery of placenta on post-cesarean endometritis and duration of cesarean operation. In this prospective [control-case] study, 280 pregnant women undergoing elective cesarean delivery in Shahid Sadoughi [Yezed, Iran] teaching hospital were randomly assigned to two groups: manual placental delivery [140 women] and spontaneous placental delivery [140 women]. Antibiotic prophylaxis was administered in both groups. The operation time concluded from skin incision to skin repair. Endometritis was diagnosed in patients who developed clinical signs of fever [>38°C] 24 h after delivery, supra-pubic tenderness and vaginal discharge. Data analysis was carried out using t-test and chi square test by SPSS15.0. The total rate of endometritis was 12.1% [34 women]; 12 women in the spontaneous placental delivery group [8.6%] and 22 women in the manual placental removal group [16%]. This difference was statistically significant between two groups [P=0.006]. There was no statistically significant difference in duration of operation between two groups [P=0.1]. Our finding indicate that manual removal of the placenta increased postpartum endometritis in compared with the spontaneous method of placental removal, but had no influence on the duration of cesarean