OBJECTIVE There is evidence that subclinical vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency is common in India. Vegetarianism is prevalent and therefore meat consumption is low. Our objective was to explore the contribution of B12-source foods and maternal B12 status during pregnancy to plasma B12 concentrations. DESIGN Maternal plasma B12 concentrations were measured during pregnancy. Children's dietary intak...

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on indices of oxidative stress and lipid profiles in maternal and cord blood samples. METHODS Blood samples were collected from 40 normal pregnant women and 46 women with GDM during the period 1998 through to 1999 at the Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The GDM patients were subdivided into 2 groups: p...

To the Editor: Applications of fetal DNA detection in maternal plasma have been reported for the prenatal assessment of fetal RhD status, sex-linked disorders, and -thalassemia. Because fetal DNA constitutes only 3% to 6% of the total DNA in maternal plasma (1 ), fetal sequences may occasionally go undetected because of low fetal DNA concentrations or fetal DNA loss during sample processing. Su...

BACKGROUND The potential use of plasma and serum for molecular diagnosis has generated interest. Tumour DNA has been found in 'the plasma and serum of cancer patients, and molecular analysis has been done on this material. We investigated the equivalent condition in pregnancy-that is, whether fetal DNA is present in maternal plasma and serum. METHODS We used a rapid-boiling method to extract ...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the interactions between choline and folate and homocysteine metabolism during pregnancy despite the facts that pregnancy places considerable stress on maternal folate and choline stores and that choline is a critical nutrient for the fetus. Choline, via betaine, is an important folate-independent source of methyl groups for remethylating homocysteine in liver. ...

INTRODUCTION Risk factors for breast milk transmission of HIV-1 from mother to child include high plasma and breast milk viral load, low maternal CD4 count and breast pathology such as mastitis. OBJECTIVE To determine the impact of nevirapine and subclinical mastitis on HIV-1 RNA in maternal plasma and breast milk after intrapartum single-dose nevirapine combined with either 1-week tail of Co...

We measured the concentration of zinc coproporphyrin I (ZnCP-I), a characteristic component of meconium, in maternal plasma by fluorometry after HPLC. We obtained plasma samples from 89 women: 35 at weeks 10-40 of normal pregnancy, 41 shortly after normal delivery, 4 from patients with amniotic fluid embolism (AFE), and 9 from non-AFE patients with intra- or postpartum shock caused by genital b...

BACKGROUND Earlier studies indicate that altered angiogenesis at birth is associated with poor birth outcome in women with preeclampsia. Now, we hypothesize that the progressive gestation dependant changes in markers of angiogenesis will be more useful to predict birth weight early even in a normotensive pregnancy. This study for the first time examines the association of gestation dependant ch...

Background: Fetal sex determination is useful for families at risk of X-linked disorders, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, adrenal hypoplasia, hemophilia. At first, this could be obtained through invasive procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, having a 1% risk of miscarriage. Since the discovery of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma, noninvasive prenata...

Fluoride and calcium concentrations in maternal plasma and in placental tissue were determined in 30 healthy women residing in an area with a relatively low water and air fluoride (fluorine) content. The mean fluoride concentrations in maternal plasma and in marginal and central parts o f placenta were 4.27 pMlL, 42.1 pglg of ash, and 33.7 pglg of ash, respectively. The mean calcium concentrati...