The Endocannabinoid System - The Prediction of Spontaneous Preterm Birth in High-Risk Women: Protocol of a Study.

Spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) is a major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, even in developed countries. Prediction of sPTB is therefore a valuable tool to reduce the associated risks. The current standard for the prediction of sPTB consists, in addition to anamnestic data, of previous sPTB and previous second trimester miscarriage, measurement of cervical length by transvaginal ultrasound (TVU CL) together with assessment of fetal fibronectin levels in cervicovaginal fluid. Other evaluation parameters, such as the level of endocannabinoids in the pregnant woman's blood, could increase the sensitivity of this management. Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are a part of the endocannabinoid system (ECS); out of them anandamide (arachidonoyl-ethanolamide, AEA), in particular, plays an important role in the regulation of pregnancy and childbirth. We present the protocol for an open, non-randomized study to evaluate concentrations of AEA and other endocannabinoids: 2 linoleoylglycerol (2-AG), 2 linoleoylglycerol (2-LG), 2 oleoylglycerol (2-OG), and 2 arachidonoyldopamine (2-ADOPA or also NADA) in the blood of pregnant women as potential predictors of sPTB. In a total of 230 women with a history of sPTB or miscarriage, eCBs levels between 22 and 28 weeks of gestation will be assessed from maternal blood, in addition to the standard procedure. The aim of the study is to determine the relationship between blood concentrations of the endocannabinoids tested and the risk of sPTB. The results of this study will describe the prognostic significance of maternal blood eCBs levels for sPTB, and could subsequently enable improved screening programs for early identification of sPTB.

[Long-term monitoring of Neisseria meningitidis carrier state in the nasopharynx and seroprevalence of specific antibodies in immunized and non-immunized persons]. / Dlouhodobé sledování nosicství Neisseria meningitidis v nosohltanu a séroprevalence specifických protilátek u imunizovaných a neimunizovaných osob.

Long-term (three-month and one-year) follow-up of nasopharyngeal carriers of Neisseria meningitidis with a frequency of sample collection of once a week and once a month resp. in the healthy population with a mean age of 43 years revealed a 4.8% positivity (2 of 42 subjects). Carriership of the same phenotype and ET-genotype of the N. meningitidis group 29E was stable in one subject, while the other long-term carrier of N. meningitidis group B has changes of the phenotype as well as ET-genotype during the follow-up period. Double (after a 3-month interval) verification of the seroprevalence of specific antimeningococcal antibodies revealed in a group of immunized subjects (vaccine A and C) a considerable degree of anti A immunity. Anti A-seropositivity in subjects immunized within a three-year interval since vaccination was 100%, in those immunized within a four-year interval a decline to 66% was recorded. Anti C antibodies after vaccination within a three-year interval were recorded in 75% subjects, in vaccinated subjects the authors detected antibodies during the first year after vaccination in 86% of the subjects. Natural anti A antibodies of the lowest titre 1:6 were recorded in four non-vaccinated subjects (22%). Naturally acquired anti B antibodies (B:2a:P1.2,P1.5) and anti C (C:2a:P1.2,P1.5) were not detected in any of the subjects.