17 research outputs found
The adaptation of Polish version of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS) for postpartum mothers
Objectives: The Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS) for postpartum women was developed and validated in the US in 2006. The aim of the research was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS) for subjective assessment of the bio-psycho-physical status of women after childbirth.
Material and methods: After the preparation of the Polish-language version of the questionnaire, the study was conducted among 168 postpartum women on the day they were discharged from the hospital. For the analysis of the reliability of the questionnaire, the Cronbach Alpha test was used, where the index of values above 0.7 was assumed to mean the correct reliability of the scale.
Results: Statistical analysis using the Alpha Cronbach test for the questions presented amounted to: 0.835, which indicates that the results are correctly aligned with one another.
Conclusions: The conducted analysis confirms that the Polish-language questionnaire in its current form has high reliability for the assessment of readiness to discharge in postpartum women and may be used in Polish conditions
Apoptosis of HeLa and CaSki cell lines incubated with All-trans retinoid acid.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the concentrations of a soluble form of APO-1/Fas antigen (sFas, CD95) and a soluble Ligand for APO-1/Fas antigen (sCD95L, sFasL) in supernatants from CaSki and HeLa cell line cultures after the incubation with All-trans-retinoic acid. HPV-16 and HPV18 - positive cell lines were cultivated with All-trans-retinoic acid in concentrations of 1 x 10(-6) M/L and 1 x 10(-8) M/L. The cultures were incubated for 24 hours. Control culture with 3 microl of dimethyl-sulphoxide (DMSO) was incubated under identical conditions. The concentrations of soluble APO-1/Fas antigen and Fas Ligand in cell culture supernatants were estimated using immunoenzymatic methods. The obtained results showed significant decrease of concentrations of soluble APO-1/Fas antigen in supernatants from HeLa cell lines incubated with retinol in comparison with the control culture. Moreover, the concentrations of soluble Ligand for APO-1/Fas antigen in the supernatants of CaSki and HeLa cell lines were significantly lower in the culture incubated with All-trans retinoid acid when compared to the control culture. Higher concentrations of soluble APO-1/Fas antigen in supernatants from HeLa cell line without retinol may constitute a protective mechanism of the cells infected with the virus before undergoing Fas/FasL-dependent apoptosis. Lower concentrations of soluble APO-1/Fas antigen and soluble Ligand for APO-1/Fas in the supernatants from CaSki and HeLa cell cultures incubated with retinol suggest that retinoids can decrease the synthesis of soluble APO-1//Fas and soluble FasL in HPV-16 and HPV - 18 positive cells and that mechanisms protecting infected cells against Fas/FasL-mediated apoptosis become defective under the influence of retinol
Uterine leiomyomas: correlation between histologic composition and stiffness via magnetic resonance elastography — a Pilot Study
Objectives: To evaluate magnetic resonance elastography as a tool for characterizing uterine leimyomas.Material and methods: At total of 12 women with symptomatic leiomyomas diagnosed in physical and ultrasound examinationswere enrolled in this pilot study. Before surgery, all patients underwent magnetic resonance elastography ofthe uterus using a 1.5 T MR whole-body scanner (Optima, GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA). Surgical specimens wereforwarded for histological examination. The findings were allocated into 3 categories depending on the percentage contentof connective tissue: below 15%, from 15 to 30% and more than 30%. The median stiffness of leiomyomas for each of thegroup was calculated. The U-Mann Whitney test was used for statistical analysis.Results: The stiffness of the leiomyomas ranged between 3.7–6.9 kPa (median value 4.9 kPa). The concentration of extracellularcomponents in the leiomyomas did not exceed 40%. An increasing trend of the stiffness with the growing percentageof extracellular component was observed. Stiffness of the leiomyomas obtained by MRE varies depending on microscopiccomposition.Conclusions: The value of stiffness shows a trend of increasing with the percentage of extracellular component of theleiomyoma. Further studies are required to assess the usefulness of MRE in diagnostics of uterine leiomyomas
Antibodies against cyclic citrullinated peptide don’t decrease after 6 months of infliximab treatment in refractory rheumatoid arthritis
Anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA) and the rheumatoid factor (RF) are well-established serological markers for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ACPA are very useful in the diagnosis of RA, especially at the early stages of the disease when ACPA have a greater diagnostic value than RF. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of infliximab treatment on RF IgM and ACPA serum levels and RA activity during 6 months of treatment. Thirty-two patients with refractory RA were treated with infliximab during a 6-month period. At baseline, 3 and 6 months of treatment the patients were examined for the number swollen and tender joints out of 28 (SJC, TJC) and the visual analogue scale of arthritis activity according to the patient (VAS). Serum samples were tested for erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein level (CRP), ACPA and RF IgM. The disease activity score (DAS-28) parameter was also calculated at the same time. During the course of our study, we observed statistically significant improvement in ESR, CRP, TJC, SJC, VAS DAS-28, and RF IgM after 3 and 6 months of infliximab treatment when compared to the baseline, whereas the ACPA level remained unchanged after 3 and 6 months of treatment (P = 0.96 and P = 0.85). The changes in the ACPA level are not a factor for evaluation of successful infliximab treatment but the changes in RF IgM are. According to different behavior of these antibodies during infliximab treatment, we suggest that the roles of ACPA and RF in the pathogenesis of RA are different
Intrauterine deaths — an unsolved problem in Polish perinatology
Objectives: The Polish criteria for “intrauterine death” include fetal demise after 22 weeks of gestation, weighing > 500 g and body length at least 25 cm, when the gestational age is unknown. The rate of fetal death in Poland in 2015 is 3:10,000. In 2020, 1,231 stillbirths were registered. Material and methods: An analysis using 142,662 births in the period between 2015–2020 in 11 living in Poland. The first subgroup was admitted as patients > 22 to the beginning of the 30th week of pregnancy (n = 229), and the second from the 30th week of pregnancy inclusively (n = 179). In the case of women from both subgroups, there was a risk of preterm delivery close to hospitalization. Results: It was found that stillbirth in 41% of women in the first pregnancy. For the patient, stillbirth was also the first in his life. The average stillbirth weight was 1487 g, the average body length was 40 cm. Among fetuses up to 30 weeks, male fetuses are born more often, in subgroup II, the sex of the child was usually female. Most fetal deaths occur in mothers < 15 and > 45 years of age. Conclusions: According to the Polish results of the origin of full-term fetuses > 30 weeks of gestation for death in the concomitant antenatal, such as placental-umbilical and fetal hypoxia, acute intrapartum effects rarely, and moreover < 30 Hbd fetal growth restriction (FGR), occurring placental-umbilical, acute intrapartum often
The Association of IL-17 and PlGF/sENG Ratio in Pre-Eclampsia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes
The aim of the study was to assess the role of concentrations of interleukin-17 (IL-17), placental growth factor (PlGF) and soluble endoglin (sENG), as well as the PlGF/sENG ratio in pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia (PE) and normal pregnancy. The concentrations of IL-17, PlGF and sENG were measured with the use of immunoenzymatic methods. The concentrations of IL-17 were significantly higher in PE patients when compared to control patients. In the group of patients with PE, the levels of IL-17 positively correlated with systolic blood pressure. On the other hand, IL-17 negatively correlated with neonatal birth weight. The concentrations of PLGF were significantly lower and sENG significantly higher in studied patients when compared to controls. The PlGF/sENG ratio in the PE group was significantly lower when compared to healthy third trimester pregnant patients. In the study group, negative correlations were observed between the sENG concentrations and thrombocyte levels. The higher concentrations of IL-17 in PE could suggest its role as an inflammatory agent in the pathogenesis of the syndrome. Moreover, the negative correlation between IL-17 and a neonatal birth weight could suggest the role of the cytokine in the development of fetal growth restriction (FGR) associated with PE. It seems possible that IL-17 can be a useful marker of the risk of FGR in pregnancy complicated by PE. Furthermore, the results suggested the potential role of sENG and the PlGF/sENG ratio in the prediction of adverse outcomes such as HELLP syndrome and DIC
The immunoregulatory disturbances in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia
Abstract Pre-eclampsia is one of the most common obstetric disorders that occurs in 5-10% of pregnant women. The signs and symptoms of this syndrome appear during the second or the third trimester of pregnancy. It manifests mainly as hypertension and proteinuria. This disorder is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among not only mothers but also newborns. Although many researchers have carried out studies concerning pre-eclampsia, the etiology of the syndrome is still unknown. It was found that pre-eclampsia as a placenta disorder develops in two stages. During the first stage there is too shallow invasion of cytotrophoblast into spiral arteries. The second stage of the disease relies on the production of some substances from ischaemic placenta which can induce the damage of endothelium. There are some observations which suggest that the syndrome is an immunological disorder. For example, there is a protective effect of sperm exposure which can support an immunological etiology. There are also evidences that the length of sexual cohabitation before pregnancy is one of protective factors. It has been suggested that the cause of pre-eclampsia is an insufficient maternal tolerance to paternal antigens. It has been found out that pre-eclampsia is a "Th1 phenomenon" what means that in feto-maternal unit and in peripheral blood of pre-eclamptic women there is a predominance of Th1 response over Th2 immunity. Moreover, the deficiency of T regulatory cells has been observed in pre-eclampsia. There was also underlined that the alterations in the function of natural killer (NK) cells, macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role in the development of pre-eclampsia
T CD3+CD8+ Lymphocytes Are More Susceptible for Apoptosis in the First Trimester of Normal Human Pregnancy
Aims. Normal human pregnancy is a complex process of many immunoregulatory mechanisms which protect fetus from the activation of the maternal immune system. The aim of the study was to investigate the apoptosis of lymphocytes in peripheral blood of normal pregnant patients and healthy nonpregnant women. Methods. Sixty pregnant women and 17 nonpregnant women were included in the study. Lymphocytes were isolated and labeled with anti-CD3, anti-CD4, and anti-CD8 monoclonal antibodies. Apoptosis was detected by CMXRos staining and analyzed using the flow cytometric method.
Results. We found significantly higher apoptosis of total lymphocytes in peripheral blood of pregnant patients when compared to healthy nonpregnant women. The percentage of apoptotic T CD3+CD8+ cells in the first trimester was significantly higher when compared to the third trimester of normal pregnancy. The ratio of T CD3+CD4+ : T CD3+CD8+ apoptotic lymphocytes was significantly lower in the first trimester when compared to other trimesters of pregnancy and to both of the phases of the menstrual cycle. Conclusions. The higher apoptosis of T CD3+CD8+ lymphocytes and the lower ratio of T CD3+CD4+ : T CD3+CD8+ apoptotic cells in the first trimester of normal pregnancy may suggest a higher susceptibility of T CD3+CD8+ cells for apoptosis as a protective mechanism at the early stage of pregnancy