Assessing leptin and soluble leptin receptor levels in full-term asymmetric small for gestational age and healthy neonates.

The aim in this study was to determine the factors affecting leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) levels in term small for gestational age (SGA) and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) newborns. The study group consisted of SGA (n=20) and AGA (n=20) newborns and their mothers. The leptin and sOB-R levels were tested using the ELISA method. The cord blood leptin concentrations were found significantly higher in the AGA group than in the SGA group (p=0.048). It was observed that cord blood leptin levels increased as body weight increased in the AGA group (r=0.681, p=0.001). The cord blood leptin levels were found higher in female infants than male infants (p=0.021). The plasma leptin levels were higher in the mothers of SGA neonates than those of AGA neonates (p=0.014). A positive correlation was detected between cord blood and amniotic fluid sOB-R concentrations in the AGA group (AGA: r=0.492, p=0.028). We conclude that the main determinants of leptin in SGA and AGA newborns are different. We can state that birth weight and gender are the main determinants of leptin levels in healthy neonates, but factors other than birth weight and gender may contribute to leptin levels in SGA newborns.

Perinatal risk factors affecting the maternal and fetal asymmetric dimethylarginine levels.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between maternal risk factors, neonatal demographic features and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels in a randomly selected group of pregnancies during delivery. The subjects were categorized into five groups as having: no maternal risk factor, maternal hypertension, gestational diabetes, maternal smoking history, and meconium staining. Blood samples were taken from the mothers before delivery and from the umbilical vein after delivery. Mean ADMA levels were significantly lower in the cord blood when compared with maternal levels in all groups. Mean ADMA level of neonates in the meconium staining group was found to be significantly higher than in the other groups (p<0.001). Maternal age, delivery type, parity and sex did not show any effect on cord blood ADMA levels. Overall, umbilical vein ADMA levels are modulated independent of several maternal features and risk factors. Although these factors are interrelated and it is difficult to interpret the relevant data separately, the most significant factor affecting umbilical vein ADMA levels seems to be perinatal hypoxia as in the case of meconium staining.