Influence of maternal nicotine exposure on neonatal rat bone: protective effect of ascorbic acid.

Limited research in young adults and immature animals suggests a detrimental effect of tobacco on bone during growth. We aimed to determine the adverse effects of maternal nicotine exposure during pregnancy and lactation on neonatal rat bone development, and to determine a protective effect of ascorbic acid. Gravid rats were assigned into three groups: two experimental and one control (group I). In the first experimental group (group II), pregnant rats received 3 mg/kg/d nicotine subcutaneously during pregnancy from 1 to 21 days of gestation and lactation (until postnatal day 21). The second experimental group (group III) received nicotine and ascorbic acid (1 mg/kg body mass/d). Whole body mineral density (BMD), content (BMC), and area (BA) were measured on postnatal day 21. Histopathologic and morphologic findings of the femur were obtained. Maternal nicotine exposure decreased the body weight of the rat at the birth and postnatal day 21. The values of BMD, BA, and BMC of the groups were similar to each other. Width of the epiphyseal plate and the hypertrophic zone were higher in group III but lower in group II than in group I. Number of apoptotic chondrocytes was significantly increased in group II. The length of femur was higher in group I but lower in group II than in group III. Maternal nicotine exposure during gestation and lactation resulted in decreased body weight and bone lengthening. Ascorbic acid supplementation was found to prevent the adverse effects of maternal nicotine exposure on the growth plate.

The association of plasma homocysteine levels with serum leptin and apolipoprotein B levels in childhood obesity.

BACKGROUND: An elevated plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) level has recently been established as an independent risk factor for thrombosis and vascular disease. However, the relationship between hyperhomocysteinemia and cardiovascular disease and obesity remains controversial. The aim of the study was to investigate a possible relationship between plasma tHcy levels and measures of childhood obesity. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty children and adolescents with exogenous obesity and 20 non-obese subjects in an age-and sex-matched control group were investigated. Fasting samples were collected for plasma tHcy, serum insulin, leptin, vitamin B12, folate, creatinine and lipid parameters. Anthropometric characteristics and body compositions were assessed in both groups. RESULTS: The obese patients had significantly higher tHcy levels than the non-obese controls (14.3+/-11.8 micromol/L vs 8.7+/-5.9 micromol/L; P=0.017). In both groups, plasma tHcy was positively related to serum leptin, but serum apolipoprotein B (apo B) levels were positively related to plasma tHcy levels only in obese patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates for the first time that leptin and apo B are main correlates of tHcy in obese children and adolescents and suggests that hyperleptinemia and increased apo B may contribute to impairment of tHcy metabolism in childhood obesity.

Effects of hypertension and obesity on endometrial thickness.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of hypertension and obesity on endometrial thickness. STUDY DESIGN: Forty obese women with hypertension (Group 1), 28 non-obese women with hypertension (Group 2), 58 obese women (Group 3), 56 non-obese healthy women (Group 4), totally 182 postmenopausal women were included in this prospective study. All patients were examined, and Papanicolaou cervical smear was performed after interview. Endometrial thickness was measured in the anterior-posterior diameter by vaginal ultrasonography. The data were analysed with one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA), Scheffe and chi2 tests. P<0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS: Endometrial thickness in obese women with or without hypertension were significantly greater than in non-obese women with or without hypertension (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference between non-obese hypertensive women and control group regarding endometrial thickness measurement (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Obesity has been found to increase endometrial thickness independently. Hypertension may increase the endometrial thickness if it is combined with obesity.

Predictive value of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the measurement of plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) as a predictive test for the development of preeclampsia. STUDY DESIGN: One-hundred and twenty pregnant women were included in this prospective longitudinal study. Maternal plasma TNF-alpha levels were measured in the first, second and third trimesters by immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Preeclamptic patients were determined prospectively. Preeclamptic and normotensive patients were compared to assess the predictive value of TNF-alpha in preeclampsia. RESULTS: Ninety patients completed the study. Preeclampsia developed in 10 out of 90 patients (11.1%). Plasma TNF-alpha levels were higher in preeclamptic patients than normotensive women in the third trimester of pregnancy (P<0.05). No difference was found between groups in the first and second trimesters (P>0.05). With the use of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) 10.13 pg/ml was found to be a cut-off value predictive for the development of preeclampsia in the third trimester, but cut-off values in the first and second trimesters could not be found. The specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values were 90, 78, 33 and 98%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study shows that plasma TNF-alpha levels are not useful as a specific marker for prediction of preeclampsia in the first and second trimesters. But determination of TNF-alpha may be useful for the prediction in the early third trimester.