The effects of pre-pregnancy body mass index and gestational weight gain on perinatal outcomes in Korean women: a retrospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain on perinatal outcomes in a population of Korean women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 2,454 women who had received antenatal care at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital from January 2007 to December 2009. We used World Health Organization definitions for Asian populations of underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal (BMI equal or higher 18.5 and < 23), overweight (BMI equal or higher 23 and < 25), and obese (BMI equal or higher 25). We analyzed perinatal outcomes according to the pre-pregnancy BMI and weight gain during pregnancy, and calculated the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from multiple logistic regression models by considering maternal age, parity, number of fetuses, length of gestation, and medical history.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among obese women, the adjusted ORs for gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorder, and incompetent internal os of cervix were 4.46, 2.53, and 3.70 (95% CI = 2.63-7.59, 1.26-5.07, and 1.50-9.12), respectively, and the adjusted ORs for neonatal complications such as macrosomia and low Apgar score were 2.08 and 1.98 (95% CI = 1.34-3.22 and 1.19-3.29), respectively, compared with normal weight women. However, there was no positive linear association between gestational weight gain and obstetric outcomes. In normal weight women, maternal and neonatal complications were significantly increased with inadequate weight gain during pregnancy (p < 0.0001 and = 0.0180, respectively), and we observed similar results in underweight women (p = 0.0136 and 0.0004, respectively).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study shows that pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity are more closely related to the adverse obstetric outcomes than excess weight gain during pregnancy. In addition, inadequate weight gain during pregnancy can result in significant complications.</p

Fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene polymorphisms and insulin resistance in association with serum phospholipid polyunsaturated fatty acid composition in healthy Korean men: cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We investigated the relationship between fatty acid desaturase (<it>FADS</it>) gene polymorphisms and insulin resistance (IR) in association with serum phospholipid polyunsaturated fatty acid (FA) composition in healthy Korean men.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Healthy men (n = 576, 30 ~ 79 years old) were genotyped for rs174537 near <it>FADS1 </it>(<it>FEN1</it>-10154G>T), <it>FADS2 </it>(rs174575C>G, rs2727270C>T), and <it>FADS3 </it>(rs1000778C>T) SNPs. Dietary intake, serum phospholipid FA composition and HOMA-IR were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fasting insulin and HOMA-IR were significantly higher in the rs174575G allele carriers than the CC homozygotes, but lower in the rs2727270T allele carriers than the CC homozygotes. The proportion of linoleic acid (18:2ω-6, LA) was higher in the minor allele carriers of <it>FEN1</it>-10154G>T, rs174575C>G and rs2727270C>T than the major homozygotes, respectively. On the other hand, the proportions of dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (20:3ω-6, DGLA) and arachidonic acid (20:4ω-6, AA) in serum phospholipids were significantly lower in the minor allele carriers of <it>FEN1</it>-10154 G>T carriers and rs2727270C>T than the major homozygotes respectively. AA was also significantly lower in the rs1000778T allele carriers than the CC homozygotes. HOMA-IR positively correlated with LA and DGLA and negatively with AA/DGLA in total subjects. Interestingly, rs174575G allele carriers showed remarkably higher HOMA-IR than the CC homozygotes when subjects had higher proportions of DLGA (≥1.412% in total serum phospholipid FA composition) (<it>P </it>for interaction = 0.009) or of AA (≥4.573%) (<it>P </it>for interaction = 0.047).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>HOMA-IR is associated with <it>FADS </it>gene cluster as well as with FA composition in serum phospholipids. Additionally, HOMA-IR may be modulated by the interaction between rs174575C>G and the proportion of DGLA or AA in serum phospholipids.</p

Hemorrhagic Transformation of Ischemic Stroke: Severe Complications of Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis

Ischemic stroke is a common complication of infective endocarditis (IE), occurring in 20-40% of left side IE cases. In these subsets, anticoagulation therapy may provoke hemorrhagic transformation (HT) of ischemic stroke, and complications of this magnitude deteriorate the clinical course for IE patients. However, in cases of IE complicated with a mechanical prosthetic valve, the physician can be concerned over the maintenance of anticoagulation due to the risk of thrombotic complication. According to our retrospective review, HT of ischemic stroke in prosthetic valve endocarditis occurred 13.8% (4/29) of the time in a variety of situations. Some of these even arose in patients with a subtherapeutic range of prothrombin time

Identification and characterization of longevity assurance gene related to stress resistance in Brassica

Brassica is a very important vegetable group worldwide and different stresses are a major concern for these crops. Enhancement of resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses by exploiting stress resistance related genes offers the most efficient approach to address this concern. In this study, a stress resistance related gene was identified from the full-length cDNA library of Brassica rapa cv. Osome, which was determined to be Brassica longevity assurance protein (BrLAP) after sequence analysis. A comparison study of this gene showed a high degree of homology with other stress resistance related longevity assurance genes and was shown to be expressed in all organs during all of the developmental growth stages. In addition, this gene significantly responded after cold, drought and ABA stress treatments in Chinese cabbage. All these data revealed that this gene may be involved in plant resistance against stresses.Keywords: Brassica rapa, longevity assurance gene, gene expression, biotic and abiotic stres

Umbilical Arterial Blood Gas and Perinatal Outcome in the Second Twin according to the Planned Mode of Delivery

Purpose: To compare umbilical arterial gas parameters in the second twin of twin pregnancies according to the mode of deliver