OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether increasing antioxidant intake in men with high levels of DNA damage or lipid peroxidation improves gestational results in couples with history of recurrent embryo loss. DESIGN Descriptive study (case series). SETTING Early recurrent embryo loss program at the University of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia. PATIENT(S) Seventeen men whose spouses had a history of ...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether pentoxifylline 400 mg (Trental 400) taken orally three times daily, in addition to ambulatory compression bandages and dressings, improves the healing rate of pure venous ulcers. DESIGN Randomised, double blind placebo controlled trial, parallel group study of factorial design, permitting the simultaneous evaluation of alternative pharmaceutical, bandaging, and ...

Although somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) cloning is more efficient in cattle than in any other species tested so far, there is a high rate of pregnancy failure that has been linked to structural and functional abnormalities of the placenta. We tested the hypothesis that these changes may originate from disturbed embryo-maternal interactions in the peri-implantation period. Therefore, we ev...

Topographic and ultrastructural characteristics in the monkey uterine lymphatics were demonstrated in the separate phases (proliferative, secretory and menstrual) of the sexual cycle and during pregnancy with 5’-nucleotidase (5’-Nase) and alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) staining methods. In the early proliferative phase, the newly forming and growing endometrial lymphatics with very irregular end...

This review integrates established and new information on the biological role of ovarian progesterone (P4) and interferon tau as well as conceptus- and endometrial-derived factors, PG and cortisol, in endometrial function and conceptus elongation during the periimplantation period of pregnancy in ruminants. Interferon tau is the maternal recognition of pregnancy signal that inhibits production ...

BACKGROUND Emerging evidence indicates that maternal oxidative stress during pregnancy could impair fetal growth and that antioxidant vitamins (e.g. vitamins A, E and C) have a significant role in maintaining physiological processes of pregnancy and growth. AIMS To determine the concentrations of vitamins A, E, and C in pair-matched maternal and cord serum samples of neonate, and thus to inve...

OBJECTIVE To review the association between major causes of maternal mortality and vitamin A, trying to determine if these associations are causal in nature, and to highlight possible biological pathways that may explain vitamin A effects. DESIGN Literature review, observational studies and clinical trials. The strength of association was determined by applying Bradford Hill criteria of causa...

Adolescent pregnant women are at greater risk for nutritional deficits, stress, and depression than their adult counterparts, and these risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes are likely interrelated. This study evaluated the prevalence of nutritional deficits in pregnant teenagers and assessed the associations among micronutrient dietary intake, stress, and depression. One hundred and eigh...

Madam, pregnancy is a state of increased requirement of macroand micro-nutrients, making the pregnant women susceptible to develop deficiencies of various micronutrients. Pregnant women in several countries have been reported to have low circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH) D] levels. Vitamin D has now been shown to be of considerable importance not only for bone health, but also for glucos...

It is well known that maternal folate deficiency results in adverse pregnancy outcomes. In addition to aspects in embryonic development, maternal uterine receptivity and the decidualization of stromal cells is also very important for a successful pregnancy. In this study, we focused on endometrium decidualization and investigated whether apoptosis, which is essential for decidualization, was im...