The region of the amnion overlying the placenta plays an active role in fluid exchange between amniotic fluid and fetal blood perfusing the surface of the placenta, whereas little transfer occurs across the reflected amnion that contacts the membranous chorion. Because aquaporins (AQPs) facilitate rapid movement of water across cells, we hypothesized that AQP gene expression in placental amnion...

Human amniotic fluid has been used in prenatal diagnosis for more than 70 years. It has proven to be a safe, reliable, and simple screening tool for a wide variety of developmental and genetic diseases. However, there is now evidence that amniotic fluid may have more use than only as a diagnostic tool and may be the source of a powerful therapy for a multitude of congenital and adult disorders....

OBJECTIVE The association between increased amniotic fluid interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations and preterm labor has received increasing attention. Several research groups have evaluated this association using commercial IL-6 kits, which principally use the sandwich-enzyme-immunoassay method, and were originally created to measure IL-6 in plasma, serum, or culture media. We evaluated commercial...

BACKGROUND Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) occurs in 3-5% of all pregnancies. GDM increases both maternal and fetal risks, causes fetal macrosomia, and hence increases the rates of caesarean sections and delivery complications such as shoulder dystocia. An early predictive marker and consequent early treatment could be beneficial, so amniotic fluid insulin and C-peptide have been examined i...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and their inhibitors (TIMP) in second trimester amniotic fluid of women with hypertensive disorders compared to normotensive women. STUDY DESIGN Amniotic fluid was obtained from 133 women undergoing genetic second trimester amniocentesis. Zymography was performed for MMP characterization and an MMP-2 ELISA kit was used to determi...

PURPOSE to determine factors associated to amniotic fluid volume and frequencies of fetal anomalies, in a reference center in Pernambuco. METHODS a transversal study performed in high-risk pregnant women submitted to obstetrical morphological ultrasound, from March 2002 to March 2006, at an institution from Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil. The intrauterine diagnosis was confirmed after birth. Soci...

Fetal lower urinary tract obstruction [LUTO] represents a rare, heterogeneous group of uropathies involving mechanical or functional blockage at the bladder outlet of varying severity. While ultrasound is a fair screening tool for the antenatal detection of this condition, it cannot reliably determine the underlying etiology of LUTO presentations. Sonographic assessment of renal appearance and ...