Effect of maternal undernutrition on human foetal pancreas morphology in second trimester of pregnancy.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Maternal undernutrition and hyperglycaemia during pregnancy, as well as foetal undernutrition affecting the development of foetal endocrine pancreas structure and function, especially that of ß-cells is well known. This study was undertaken to look into the changes in pancreatic islets morphology of aborted normal human foetuses (16-20 wk old) of undernourished and adequately nourished mothers. METHODS: Foetuses were collected over a 24 month period from medically terminated pregnancies of six undernourished mothers (BMI <18.5 kg/m² and eight adequately nourished mothers (BMI >18.5 kg/m². The sections were stained with haematoxylin & eosin as well as Masson trichrome for morphometric estimates such as islet count, area, volume, etc. and immunohistochemistry analysis of ß-cells for insulin presence was done. RESULTS: Significant correlations between maternal and foetal parameters were seen. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the number, size or density and beta cell counts of the pancreas among foetal pancreas of mothers with BMI <18.5 and >18.5 kg/m². INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that nutritional status of the mother may not have profound influence on the morphology of beta cells of foetal pancreas in second trimester of pregnancy. Further studies need to be done to confirm these findings.

Effectiveness of vaginal tablets containing lactobacilli versus pH tablets on vaginal health and inflammatory cytokines: a randomized, double-blind study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of lactobacilli on vaginal health and proinflammatory cytokines. Sixty-seven patients with bacterial vaginosis (BV), 50 with intermediate flora and 42 with normal vaginal flora were enrolled in this double-blind study. The subjects were randomized to receive probiotic lactobacilli vaginal tablets (L. brevis CD2, L. salivarius subsp. salicinius, L. plantarum) or the vaginal pH tablet (active comparator). Cervico-vaginal lavage was collected to measure the concentrations of IL-1ß, TNFα and IL-6 by ELISA. Neutral sphingomyelinase activity was also quantified in both arms before and after treatment. The probiotic vaginal tablet was well tolerated and no side effects were reported. The study demonstrated a cure rate of nearly 80 %; i.e., 32 % of the women could restore normal vaginal flora and 47 % had improved Nugent score, whereas 20 % of the subjects did not clear BV in the first follow-up (after 8 days treatment). The pH tablet containing pH lowering compounds induced resolution of BV and restoration of normal vaginal flora in 74 % and 26 %, respectively. The lactobacilli tablet was found to be better than the pH tablet in preventing BV in healthy subjects. A significant reduction in IL-1ß and IL-6 vaginal cytokines was observed after treatment with lactobacilli, while the active comparator did not have any effect on local proinflammatory cytokines. Vaginal neutral sphingomyelinase activity was not modified in either group. Vaginal tablets containing lactobacilli can cure BV and reduce vaginal inflammatory response.