Glucocorticoids and foetal heart maturation; implications for prematurity and foetal programming.

Glucocorticoid receptor is required for foetal heart maturation.

Glucocorticoids are vital for the structural and functional maturation of foetal organs, yet excessive foetal exposure is detrimental to adult cardiovascular health. To elucidate the role of glucocorticoid signalling in late-gestation cardiovascular maturation, we have generated mice with conditional disruption of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells u...

Tone Entropy Analysis of Foetal Heart Rate Variability

Development of the foetal autonomic nervous system can be indirectly understood by looking at the changes in beat to beat variability in foetal heart rates. This study presents Tone-Entropy (T-E) analysis of foetal heart rate variability (HRV) at multiple lags (1–8) to understand the influence of gestational ages (early and late) on the development of the foetal autonomic nervous system (ANS). ...

Evaluation of Maternal and Foetal Outcome of Pregnancy with Heart Disease with Special Reference to Surgically Corrected Heart Diseases

Objective: To study maternal and foetal outcome of pregnancy in women with heart disease with history of corrective surgery/ intervention Methods: Pregnant women with cardiac disease attending antenatal clinic were studied over one year to assess their profiles and maternal and foetal outcome of pregnancy with women having corrective surgeries is evaluated. Results: Majority of women belong to ...

Adverse Effects of Alcohol Consumption, on Foetal and Postnatal Mice

Prenatal glucocorticoids and long-term programming.

Epidemiological evidence suggests that low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular, metabolic and neuroendocrine disorders in adult life. Glucocorticoid administration during pregnancy reduces offspring birth weight and alters the maturation of the lung and other organs. We hypothesised that prenatal exposure to excess glucocorticoids or stress might represent a mech...