ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Chemerin is a novel adipokine implicated in inflammation and obesity. We hypothesized that foetal chemerin would be elevated in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and correlate with foetal and maternal adiposity. DESIGN: Observational, longitudinal study. SUBJECTS AND MEASUREMENTS: Foetal chemerin was measured separately in arterial and venous cord blood of 30 infants born to mothers with (n = 15) and without GDM (n = 15), in their mothers in early third trimester and at delivery and in amniotic fluid (week 32) of women with GDM. Expression of chemerin and its receptor in human foetal tissues commercially available and in placental cells was measured by quantitative PCR. Associations between foetal and maternal anthropometric and metabolic variables were assessed in multivariate regression models. RESULTS: In GDM, foetal arterial but not venous cord blood chemerin levels were elevated by about 60% (P < 0·05). Venous cord blood chemerin was higher in infants of obese women (P < 0·01). In multivariate analyses, neither amniotic fluid nor cord blood chemerin levels correlated with birth weight or ponderal index. Both arterial and venous chemerin levels were related to maternal chemerin at birth, and arterial chemerin was associated with GDM status in addition. Maternal levels were unaltered in GDM, but higher in maternal obesity. Foetal liver produces fourfold more chemerin mRNA than other foetal tissues, whereas its receptor prevails in spleen. CONCLUSIONS: Based on multivariate analyses, foetal growth appears unrelated to foetal chemerin. Maternal obesity and GDM have differential effects on foetal chemerin levels. Site of major production (liver) and action (spleen) differ in human foetal tissues.
Subject(s)
Chemokines/blood , Diabetes, Gestational/metabolism , Fetal Blood/metabolism , Obesity/blood , Adiposity/physiology , Adult , Amniocentesis , Female , Fetus/metabolism , Glucose Tolerance Test , Humans , Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins , Longitudinal Studies , Multivariate Analysis , Pregnancy , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: We sought to test the hypothesis that an extraperitoneal cesarean section (ECS) technique reduces postoperative pain without increasing intraoperative and postoperative complications. STUDY DESIGN: In a single-center, single-blinded prospective trial we randomized 54 patients with an indication for primary or first repeat cesarean section at term pregnancy to an ECS (n = 27) or transperitoneal cesarean section (TCS) (n = 27) procedure. Patients with suspected abnormal placentation, a history of >1 cesarean section, or major abdominal surgery were excluded. The primary endpoint of the study was maximum abdominal pain measured by numeric rating scale ranging from 0-10. RESULTS: Patients after ECS had significantly less maximum surgical site pain than patients after TCS. Median peak pain scores on postoperative day 1 were 4.00 (interquartile range, 3.00-5.00) for ECS and 5.00 (interquartile range, 4.00-7.00) for TCS, respectively (P = .031). Analgesic requirements, intraoperative nausea, and postoperative shoulder pain were significantly less after ECS. Overall operative time was significantly shorter in ECS, with no difference in delivery time. No bladder injury occurred in either group. There were no differences in estimated blood loss and neonatal outcome. Urogenital distress, urinary tract infection, and bowel dysfunction did not differ at discharge from hospital and 6 weeks after. CONCLUSION: An extraperitoneal approach to cesarean section appears to reduce postoperative pain, usage of analgesics, and intraoperative nausea without an increase in significant complications.
