The effect of gestational hypertension on the maternal mean platelet volume

To evaluate the effect of gestational hypertension on the maternal mean platelet volume (MPV). The study group comprised pregnant women with gestational hypertension who gave birth to single, term, healthy fetuses and control group was pregnant women without any complications. MPVs were calculated within 24 hours in the intrapartum period. The mean MPV of 68 hypertensive and randomly selected 135 normotensive pregnant women were compared. The MPV of gestational hypertensive group was significantly higher (9.5±0.98 vs 9.2±0.9 fL; p=0.015). Using ROC analysis, the optimal MPV cut off value was found 9.25 fL with the sensitivity of 60.0% and the specificity of 61.0% (AUC=0.622, 95% CI=0.538-0.707, p=0.004) for the prediction of gestational hypertension. This study demonstrated that maternal MPV cannot be used to predict gestational hypertension in clinical practice due to its low sensitivity and specificity. However, further studies are needed to examine the predictive value of MPV in the progression of the hypertensive diseases of pregnancy. [Med-Science 2020; 9(1.000): 90-3

Is There a Relationship Between Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Tissue Fibrillin-1 Levels?

Purpose: Pelvic organ prolapse is a multifactorial disorder in which extracellular matrix defects are implicated. Fibrillin-1 level is reduced in stress urinary incontinence. In Marfan syndrome, which is associated with mutations in Fibrillin-1, pelvic floor disorders are commonly observed. We hypothesize that Fibrillin-1 gene expression is altered in pelvic organ prolapse. Methods: Thirty women undergoing colporrhaphy or hysterectomy because of cystocele, rectocele, cystorectocele, or uterine prolapse were assigned to a pelvic prolapse study group, and thirty women undergone hysterectomy for nonpelvic prolapse conditions were assigned to a control group. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was conducted on vaginal tissue samples to measure the expression of Fibrillin-1. Expression levels were compared between study and control groups by Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferroni revision. Results: Fibrillin-1 gene expression was not significantly lower in the study group than in the control group. Similarly, no significant correlation between Fibrillin-1 levels and grade of pelvic prolapse was found. Age over 40 years (P=0.018) and menopause (P=0.027) were both associated with reduced Fibrillin-1 levels in the pelvic prolapse group, whereas the delivery of babies weighing over 3,500 g at birth was associated with increased Fibrillin-1 expression (P=0.006). Conclusions: The results did not indicate a significant reduction in Fibrillin-1 gene expression in pelvic prolapse disorders; however, reduced Fibrillin-1 may contribute to increased pelvic organ prolapse risk with age and menopause. Increased Fibrillin-1 gene expression may be a compensatory mechanism in cases of delivery of babies with high birth weight. Further studies are needed for a better understanding of these observations