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Having sexual intercourse during pregnancy does not appear to affect the treatment of bacterial vaginosis or the risk of premature birth, according to two large studies of bacterial vaginosis. Bacterial vaginosis is a bacterial infection of the vagina. Some studies suggest that intercourse during pregnancy increases the risk of premature birth but other studies have not confirmed the association.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) may increase the risk of HIV infection by reducing the amount of secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor in vaginal fluids. This was found in a study of 438 women, about half of whom had an STD. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor protects against HIV infection.

Measuring estriol in a pregnant woman's saliva appears to be more accurate than the Creasy score. The Creasy score is used to determine whether a woman will deliver prematurely. Researchers compared this method with salivary estriol measurements in 601 pregnant women. Estriol is produced by the fetus, but crosses the placenta and can be found in the mother's blood, urine, and saliva. The level of estriol increases substantially three to five weeks before birth. If it happens before then, it is a potential sign of premature birth. Salivary estriol levels were more accurate in predicting premature birth than the Creasy score in this study.

A low fibronectin level in vaginal secretions does not seem to be useful in identifying women with an ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the human embryo attaches to the inside of the Fallopian tubes rather than the uterus. Researchers measured fetal fibronectin in vaginal secretions from 110 women in their first trimester of pregnancy. Some had evidence of ectopic pregnancy and others had a normal pregnancy. Many women with an ectopic pregnancy had lower fetal fibronectin levels than the women with normal pregnancies. However, the test was not accurate enough in identifying ectopic pregnancy.

Neisseria (N.) gonorrhoeae infection of the uterus may be facilitated by iron and transferrin, an iron-transporting protein. N. gonorrhoeae is a sexually transmitted disease that can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Researchers studied the ability of N. gonorrhoeae to attach to uterine tissue in the laboratory. N. gonorrhoeae grown in the presence of iron showed greater ability to attach to uterine tissue than did N. gonorrhoeae grown in the absence of iron. N. gonorrhoeae grown without iron but with transferrin also increased the organism's attachment to uterine tissue. Saturated transferrin was associated with the growth of N. gonorrhoeae as well as its attachment. These findings may explain why PID caused by N. gonorrhoeae happens around menstruation. The blood supply contains iron which may feed N. gonorrhoeae.

We hypothesized that systemic release of endogenous leukocyte-derived polypeptide antimicrobial defensins (polymorphonuclear leukocyte-specific) and lactoferrin (polymorphonuclear leukocyte and epithelial cell derived) occurs in nonneutropenic children with severe sepsis.

To evaluate serial measurements of salivary estriol (E3) to detect increased risk of spontaneous preterm labor and preterm birth.

A patient with lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin anti-body developed preeclampsia at 24 weeks' gestation. Therapy with human immunoglobulin (Ig) resulted in stabilization of preeclampsia and suppression of the lupus anticoagulant. Anticardiolipin antibody titers were partially suppressed. Preeclampsia worsened at 32 weeks' gestation, and a healthy infant was delivered. For patients with preeclampsia secondary to lupus anticoagulant before the fetus is viable, human Ig is a potential therapeutic option.

Human neutrophil peptides 1–3 (defensins) are granule constituents released from activated neutrophils. We hypothesized that amniotic fluid (AF) defensin levels are elevated in preterm labor (PTL) patients with subclinical intrauterine infection (IUI). AF samples were obtained from 203 pregnant patients with varying clinical characteristics. Defensin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Median AF defensin levels were fourfold to 24-fold higher in patients with IUI than in preterm and term controls. Among patients with subclinical IUI, the degree of AF defensin elevation was greater in those with a positive AF culture. AF defensin levels increased exponentially with increasing severity of histologic chorioamnionitis. An AF defensin level of >2,500 ng/mL identified 88% of patients with a positive AF culture, whereas a level of >400 ng/mL identified 85% of all infected patients. AF defensin levels accurately identify patients with subclinical IUI, as defined by a positive AF culture or placental histology.

Sexually transmitted diseases, including trichomoniasis, are risk factors for acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Enhancement mechanisms are unknown. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) from saliva appears to prevent transmission of HIV through inhibition of virus entry into monocytic cells in vitro. This study was undertaken to determine if secreted cysteine proteases of Trichomonas vaginalis degrade SLPI and render it nonfunctional. It was determined if SLPI levels were decreased in vaginal fluids from pregnant women infected with T. vaginalis. Isolated proteases were incubated with recombinant human SLPI, and the degradation was followed by Western analysis with SLPI antiserum. SLPI levels were measured by ELISA in vaginal fluids from women infected with T. vaginalis and uninfected controls. Cysteine proteases cleaved SLPI and rendered it nonfunctional. Median levels of SLPI from infected patients were 26% of those of controls (P <.005). The degradation of SLPI in association with trichomonal infection may increase the risk of HIV acquisition.