Reproductive toxicology
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Reproductive toxicology · Sep 2011
ReviewAsthma, asthma medications and their effects on maternal/fetal outcomes during pregnancy.
Maternal asthma may increase the risk of adverse fetal and maternal outcomes such as low birth weight, perinatal mortality, preterm birth, preeclampsia, hypertensive disorders, maternal mortality, uterine hemorrhage, and gestational diabetes. Controlling asthma during pregnancy with appropriate medications leads to improved intrauterine growth of the fetus and fewer adverse perinatal outcomes. ⋯ However, taking oral corticosteroids during pregnancy may confer increased risk of lower birth weight and congenital malformations. Therefore, managing pregnant asthmatics requires a careful benefit-risk analysis, and when indicated, the benefits of a medication that may have increased risks can dictate its use in severe uncontrolled asthma.
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Reproductive toxicology · Apr 2011
ReviewDoes early-life exposure to organophosphate insecticides lead to prediabetes and obesity?
Human exposures to organophosphate insecticides are ubiquitous. Although regarded as neurotoxicants, increasing evidence points toward lasting metabolic disruption from early-life organophosphate exposures. We gave neonatal rats chlorpyrifos, diazinon or parathion in doses devoid of any acute signs of toxicity, straddling the threshold for barely-detectable cholinesterase inhibition. ⋯ When the organophosphate-exposed animals consumed a high fat diet in adulthood, metabolic defects were exacerbated and animals gained excess weight compared to unexposed rats on the same diet. At the same time, the high fat diet ameliorated many of the central synaptic defects caused by organophosphate exposure, pointing to nonpharmacologic therapeutic interventions to offset neurodevelopmental abnormalities, as well as toward fostering dietary choices favoring high fat intake. These studies show how common insecticides may contribute to the increased worldwide incidence of obesity and diabetes.
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In the present review article we sought to analyze, on the basis of a systematic review, the indications, rationale of oocytes cryopreservation, as well as the techniques that improved the aforementioned procedure in order to higher the pregnancy rate in women undergoing that procedure. Moreover, we pointed out the importance of oocytes cryopreservation in the research field as oocyte banking may be of utmost importance to increase the availability of oocytes for research applications such as genetic engineering or embryo cloning. ⋯ Clinical efficiency remains low, but healthy children have been born, indicating that chromosomally normal embryos can originate from frozen oocytes. Freezing protocols are not yet optimal and it is now desirable to combine empirical and theoretical knowledge.
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Varicella infection during the first and second trimester of pregnancy may increase the risk for congenital varicella syndrome 0.5-1.5% above the baseline risk for major malformation. Third trimester infection may lead to maternal pneumonia which can be life threatening if not treated appropriately. Varicella-zoster immune globulin (VZIG) should be administered as soon as possible preferably within 96 h from exposure to prevent maternal infection or subsequent complications. ⋯ Unlike primary varicella infection in pregnancy, herpes zoster has not been documented to cause complications unless in the disseminated form. The advent of advanced imaging techniques and molecular biotechniques has improved prenatal diagnosis. With increase use of vaccination, the incidence of chickenpox in pregnancy is expected to decline in the future.
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Reproductive toxicology · May 2006
ReviewLaboratory assessment and diagnosis of congenital viral infections: Rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), parvovirus B19 and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Viral infections during pregnancy may cause fetal or neonatal damage. Clinical intervention, which is required for certain viral infections, relies on laboratory tests performed during pregnancy and at the neonatal stage. This review describes traditional and advanced laboratory approaches and testing methods used for assessment of the six most significant viral infections during pregnancy: rubella virus (RV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), parvovirus B19 and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Interpretation of the laboratory tests results according to studies published in recent years is discussed.