Placental cerebral index

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to assess the RV (right ventricle) and LV (left ventricle) Tei index in large for gestational age (LGA) fetuses with a single 360-degree umbilical coil of the umbilical cord around the fetal neck identified by ultrasound in the third trimester of gestation. (2) Methods: The RV and LV Tei index for the cardiac function were measured in 297 singleton pregnancies, and we identified 25 LGA fetuses. There were 48% of LGA fetuses with a nuchal umbilical cord-LGA/NC-larger for gestational age fetuses with a nuchal cord...

BACKGROUND: Biometrical and blood flow examinations are fundamental for assessing fetoplacental development during pregnancy. Guinea pigs have been proposed as a good model to study fetal development and related gestational complications; however, longitudinal growth and blood flow changes in utero have not been properly described. This study aimed to describe fetal and placental growth and blood flow of the main intrauterine vascular beds across normal guinea pig pregnancy and to discuss the relevance of this data for human pregnancy...

Background and Objectives : Monitoring pregnancies with fetal growth restriction (FGR) presents a challenge, especially concerning the time of delivery in cases of early preterm pregnancies below 32 weeks. The aim of our study was to compare different diagnostic parameters in growth-restricted preterm neonates with and without morbidity/mortality and to determine sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic parameters for monitoring preterm pregnancies with early preterm fetal growth restriction below 32 weeks...

External cephalic version (ECV) is a cost-effective and safe treatment option for breech presentation at term. Following ECV, fetal well-being is assessed via a non-stress test (NST). An alternative option to identify signs of fetal compromise is via the Doppler indices of the umbilical artery (UA), middle cerebral artery (MCA) and ductus venosus (DV). Inclusion criteria were an uncomplicated pregnancy with breech presentation at term. Doppler velocimetry of the UA, MCA and DV were performed up to 1 h before and up to 2 h after ECV...

PURPOSE: This study aimed to elucidate the accuracy of Doppler parameters in predicting the prognosis of late-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR). METHODS: This was a prospective study of 114 pregnancies. Doppler parameters, including the cerebroplacental ratio and pulsatility index (PI) in the middle cerebral, umbilical, uterine artery, were recorded. The new uteroplacental-cerebro ratio (UPCR) was constructed as the ratio of (umbilical artery + mean of the left and right uterine artery) to middle cerebral artery PI...

INTRODUCTION: Late-onset intrauterine fetal growth restriction (IUGR) is a common pregnancy complication diagnosed in 5-10% of pregnant women worldwide. Under the impact of hypoxia, the fetus develops a protective mechanism of adaptive changes occurring in the cerebral circulation ("brain-sparing effect"). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted detailed longitudinal Doppler examinations and the monitoring of the fetal condition in 53 IUGR fetuses. Doppler measurements of the pulsatility index in the fetal tibial (TA-PI), umbilical (UA-PI), and middle cerebral arteries (MCA-PI) were performed, and the cerebral placental ratio (CPR) was determined on a weekly basis from the 33rd week to the birth...

INTRODUCTION: Transverse relaxation time (T2*) is related to tissue oxygenation and morphology. We aimed to describe T2* weighted MRI in selected fetal organs in normal pregnancies, and to investigate the correlation between fetal organ T2* and placental T2*, birthweight (BW) deviation, and redistribution of fetal blood flow. METHODS: T2*-weighted MRI was performed in 126 singleton pregnancies between 23+6- and 41+3-weeks' gestation. The T2* value was obtained from the placenta and fetal organs (brain, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, and spleen)...

OBJECTIVES: To create a predictive model including biomarkers and evaluate its ability to predict adverse perinatal outcomes in late-onset small fetuses, ultimately helping to provide individualized counseling at the time of diagnosis. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study, including singleton pregnancies with an estimated fetal weight (EFW) below the 10th percentile, at a gestational age between 32 + 0 and 36 + 6 weeks of gestation (WG)...

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to evaluate the association of the Myocardial Performance Index (MPI) and Cerebro-Placental Ratio (CPR) in predicting adverse perinatal outcomes in fetuses who are appropriately-grown (AGA), small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and growth restricted (FGR). METHODS: Singleton pregnancies were recruited after 24 weeks. The patients were recruited after having been classified as AGA (AC/EFW > 10th centile), SGA (AC/EFW-3rd-10th centile without doppler abnormalities), and FGR (AC/EFW < 3rd centile or 3rd-10th centile with doppler abnormalities)...

BACKGROUND: Description of the condition Malaria, an infectious disease transmitted by the bite of female mosquitoes from several Anopheles species, occurs in 87 countries with ongoing transmission (WHO 2020). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that, in 2019, approximately 229 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide, with 94% occurring in the WHO's African region (WHO 2020). Of these malaria cases, an estimated 409,000 deaths occurred globally, with 67% occurring in children under five years of age (WHO 2020)...

Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is associated with short- and long-term morbidity, often with fetal compromise in utero, evidenced by abnormal Doppler velocimetry of fetal vessels. Lipids are vital for growth and development, but metabolism in FGR pregnancy, where fetuses do not grow to full genetic potential, is poorly understood. We hypothesize that triglyceride concentrations are increased in placentas and that important complex lipids are reduced in cord plasma from pregnancies producing the smallest babies (birth weight &lt; 5%) and correlate with ultrasound Dopplers...

In order to investigate the value of the ultrasonic monitoring of maternal and fetal vascular parameters, serum vitamin D, and placental growth factor (PLGF) in predicting fetal growth restriction (FGR), a method of ultrasonic detection of genetic factors causing fetal growth in utero was proposed. 125 pregnant women with FGR diagnosed in our hospital from June 2018 to June 2021 (the FGR group) and 125 pregnant women with a normal prenatal examination (the control group) were collected retrospectively. The systolic/diastolic blood flow ratio (S/D), pulsatile index (PI), and resistance index (RI) of the fetal umbilical artery (UA), middle cerebral artery (MCA), and maternal uterine artery (UtA) were monitored by ultrasound at 20 to 24 weeks of gestation, and the levels of serum vitamin D and PLGF were detected...

INTRODUCTION: Cannabis consumption during pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy and neonatal complications. Since the underlying mechanism is unknown, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the changes in maternal and fetal blood flow in pregnancies exposed to cannabis, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A case-control study between 2013 and 2020, included women with continued cannabis exposure during the pregnancies, defined by qualitative detection of THC in urine (Cannabis Group), and low-risk pregnancy women divided into tobacco smokers (Tobacco Group), and non-tobacco smokers (Control Group)...

BACKGROUND: The functional maternal-fetal hemodynamic unit includes fetal umbilical vein flow and maternal peripheral vascular resistance. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the relationships between maternal and fetal hemodynamics in a population with suspected fetal growth restriction. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective study of normotensive pregnancies referred to our outpatient clinic for a suspected fetal growth restriction. We performed a maternal hemodynamics measurement, using a non-invasive device (USCOM-1A®), and a fetal ultrasound evaluation to assess fetal biometry and velocimetry Doppler parameters...

BACKGROUND: Maternal exposure to air pollution has been associated with poor obstetric outcomes. However, the available evidence on the impact of maternal exposure to air pollution on placental function is still scarce and is based on estimated ambient levels of air pollutants. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between short-term maternal exposure to NO2 based on the objective personal measure of NO2 exposure and Doppler markers of placental function. METHODS: This study was based on a prospective cohort of 101 pregnant women, recruited at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Barcelona (Spain), between January 2017 and April 2018...

INTRODUCTION: Objectives were to analyze changes in fetal cephalic biometry and fetoplacental circulation throughout pregnancy in fetuses with congenital heart defects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prospective study conducted on three university tertiary referral hospitals. Fetuses with the diagnosis of isolated congenital heart defects attending between 2014 and 2018 were included. Congenital heart defects were divided into two groups according to the oxygen supply to the central nervous system: group I (expected low placental blood content and low oxygen delivery to the brain) and group II (expected intermediate and high placental blood content)...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome (RPLS) in pregnant women with severe preeclampsia or eclampsia (SPE/E) based on a predicting model and to analyze the perinatal outcomes. METHODS: From January 2015 to March 2020, 78 pregnant women data diagnosed with severe preeclampsia or eclampsia with cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and transcranial Doppler (TCD) screening in Xiangyang No...

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) in the final prenatal care for neonatal respiratory diseases and to analyze the risk of relevant factors associated with neonatal respiratory disorders. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 795 singleton pregnancies was conducted. The pulsatility indices (PI) of the umbilical artery (UA) and the middle cerebral artery (MCA) were measured, and the MCA to UA ratio (CPR) was determined...

OBJECTIVE: Recent evidences highlight a considerable heterogeneity in the methodology of previously published studies reporting reference ranges for maternal and fetal Dopplers, which may have relevant implications in clinical practice. In view of these limitations, a standardized methodology to construct Doppler charts has been proposed. The aim of this study was to develop charts for pulsatility index (PI) of maternal and fetal Dopplers based upon the recently proposed standardized methodology and using quantile regression...

BACKGROUND: The antenatal identification of placental dysfunction in small-for-gestational-age (SGA) fetuses with normal fetal Doppler flows remains an obstetric challenge. In a significant fraction of these pregnancies placental dysfunction is revealed by clinical manifestations such as preeclampsia, preterm delivery, or severe SGA at birth or by abnormal findings in the postnatal placental histological examination. Therefore, new methods to identify placental function directly in pregnancy at the time of SGA diagnosis is highly needed...