Introduction : Hypospadias can be defined as an abnormal urethral orifice under surface of the penis with or without chordee and with or without dorsal hood. At a critical time in sexual differentiation of the male fetus, HCG enters fetal plasma from syncytio trophoblast; acts as an LH surrogate and stimulate replication of testicular Ley dig cells and testosterone synthesis to promote male sex...

The placenta grows rapidly for a short period with high blood flow during pregnancy and has multifaceted functions, such as its barrier function, nutritional transport, drug metabolizing activity and endocrine action. Consequently, the placenta is a highly susceptible target organ for drug- or chemical-induced adverse effects, and many placenta-toxic agents have been reported. However, histopat...

We investigated the effect of paternal folate status on folate content and expression of the folate transporter folate receptor α (FRα) in rat placental tissues. Rats were mated after males were fed a diet containing 0 mg of folic acid/kg of diet (paternal folate-deficient, PD) or 8 mg folic acid/kg of diet (paternal folate-supplemented, PS) for 4 weeks. At 20 days of gestation, the litter size...

BACKGROUND/AIM The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between placental localisation, birth weight, and foetal sex. It also evaluates umbilical artery Doppler parameters and their relationship with placental localisation. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a retrospective study of 500 healthy pregnant women who gave birth at our university. All women had undergone a detailed ultrasou...

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are associated with several complications including low birth weight, abnormal placentation and increased risk for rare imprinting disorders. Indeed, experimental studies demonstrate ART procedures independent of existing infertility induce epigenetic perturbations in the embryo and extraembryonic tissues. To test the hypothesis that these epigenetic per...

BACKGROUND Intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is widely recommended in sub-Saharan Africa to reduce the risk of malaria and improve birth outcomes. However, there are reports that the efficacy of IPTp with SP is waning, especially in parts of Africa where antimalarial resistance to this drug has become widespread. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPA...

BACKGROUND Fetal growth inhibition is a known sequelae of in utero glucocorticoid exposure and has long-term consequences for adult health. Sex-specific fetal growth patterns are observed in pregnancies with maternal asthma and may be due to differential sensitivity of the placenta to glucocorticoids. It is currently unknown whether expression of the placental glucocorticoid receptor (GR) becom...

Address for Correspondence: Ms. P. Sharmila Bhanu, Department of Anatomy, Narayana Medical College, Chinthareddy Palem, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh 524002, India. Mobile: +91-9441705457 Fax: +91-861-2317962 E-Mail: [email protected] Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an ever increasing threat in Indian women, is found up to 10% of the total pregnancies and is mainly due to di...