The possible role of serum leptin in preeclampsia.

BACKGROUND: It is theorized that adipokines play a critical role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia, particularly with their pro-inflammatory and inflammatory features. AIM: To investigate serum leptin levels in pregnancies complicated with preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Maternal serum leptin levels were analyzed by solid phase enzyme amplified sensitivity immunoassay (EASIA) method in 23 patients with mild preeclampsia, 29 patients with severe preeclampsia, and 28 healthy pregnant controls. RESULTS: Mean serum leptin levels did not differ statistically between patients with mild preeclampsia, severe preeclampsia, and the controls (10.77 ng/ml, 13.40 ng/ml, and 8.43 ng/ml, respectively). Also, there was no relationship between serum leptin levels and the gestational ages of the participants. DISCUSSION: Serum leptin levels are not associated with preeclampsia. Leptin measurements are not affected with the gestational age. The role of leptin in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia should be evaluated cautiously.

Maternal adiponectin and visfatin concentrations in normal and complicated pregnancies.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of adiponectin and visfatin in the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia (PE) and how their concentrations correlate with the severity of the disease and neonatal outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective case-control study was carried out in 52 preeclamptic and 28 healthy pregnant women during the third trimester. The maternal plasma concentrations of adiponectin and visfatin were determined. Neonatal outcomes were also recorded. RESULTS: Mean maternal plasma adiponectin concentrations in healthy pregnant women did not differ significantly from those of mild PE and severe PE groups. The plasma adiponectin levels of PE patients with small for gestational age (SGA) and those without SGA did not differ significantly, but the median plasma visfatin concentration of patients with SGA fetus was significantly higher if the patient was preeclamptic (p = 0.036). CONCLUSION: The severity of preeclampsia did not change the plasma levels of adiponectin and visfatin, but the median plasma visfatin concentration of patients with SGA fetuses were significantly higher if the patient was preeclamptic. Altered levels of adipocytokines strongly imply that the regulation of adipocytokines in PE is different and more complex compared to that in healthy pregnancy.

Antenatal ambroxol usage in the prevention of infant respiratory distress syndrome. Beneficial and adverse effects.

A bromhexine metabolite ambroxol, is a relatively new promoter of fetal lung maturation. The data on its efficacy and side effects in humans are not yet as many as those of corticosteroids. We found that in 24 premature labor patients ambroxol reduced the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome when compared with the control group, consisting of 58 patients. There was no concomitant disorder in any patient that would have contributed to the fetal lung maturation. We also observed septic morbidity to be less frequent in the ambroxol group. Thyroid hormone levels were within normal range both in maternal and fetal circulation. There were no side effects attributable to the drug. Maternal liver and renal function test results did not differ significantly throughout the treatment.

PIP: At the clinics of Uludag University Medical Faculty's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Bursa, Turkey, clinicians compared data on 24 premature infants whose mothers had received oral ambroxol (1300 mg/day until delivery) with data on 58 premature infants whose mothers did not receive ambroxol to determine whether or not ambroxol reduced infant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) by promoting fetal lung maturation. RDS occurred in 8% of the infants in the ambroxol group compared to 10% in the control group. The only RDS case to survive had received ambroxol. Sepsis was more common in the control group than the ambroxol group (13% vs. 4%). None of the infants had any concomitant disorder that would have contributed to fetal lung maturation. Ambroxol did not significantly change maternal liver and renal function results. In infant and maternal cases, the blood thyroid hormone levels were within the normal range. None of the mothers in either group developed a puerperal infection. Ambroxol did not cause any significant maternal or infant side effects. These findings suggest that ambroxol may prevent RDS and sepsis. Larger study groups and studies of groups with hypertension, diabetes, and multiple gestations are needed to determine whether ambroxol is a valuable alternative to steroids for prevention of RDS.

Prolactin and fructose in human seminal fluid.

Two hundred thirty-six semen specimens were obtained in the sterility clinic by masturbation after 3 days of abstinence. In a radioimmunoassay for prolactin (NIH, batch no. 5) the dose-response curve obtained with seminal fluid prolactin was parallel to that obtained with serum prolactin. The average seminal fluid prolactin was 780 microunits/ml (35 ng/ml), three times higher than serum prolactin concentration in men. No relationship was found between seminal prolactin concentration and sperm count (per ml or per ejaculate) or sperm motility. There was a significant and positive correlation between seminal prolactin concentration and fructose concentration. The relationship was of an exponential type. Seminal fructose increased progressively with seminal prolactin; however, for prolactin values above 850 microunits/ml, there was no further increase in seminal fructose. A similar relationship was observed between seminal prolactin concentration and volume of the semen specimens. These data support the concept that prolactin may play a key role in male fertility, perhaps by influencing the composition of the milieu where spermatozoa survive rather than by direct effect on spermatogenesis.