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Preeclampsia (PE) is a major health problem occurring in pregnant women and the principal cause of maternal morbidity and perinatal mortality. It is characterized by alteration of the extravilli trophoblast cell migration toward the endometrial spiral arteries with a concomitant reduction in maternal blood flow in the placenta. This result in a state of ischemia–hypoxia which triggers an oxidative stress stage with production of reactive oxygen species. A cascade of cellular and molecular events leads then to endothelial dysfunction, transduction pathway signal disruption and induction of apoptosis and necrosis mechanisms and therefore a significant reduction in the amount of nutrients required for normal fetal development. Placental anchoring chorionic and stem villi present a skeleton of myofibroblasts arranged in parallel disposition to its longitudinal axis. The intraplacental blood volume is controlled by the contraction/relaxation of these myofibroblasts, promoting the delivery of nutrients and metabolites to the fetus. Recently, a new mesodermal originated cell type has been described in the villous stroma, the so named “telocytes”. These cells are strategically located between the smooth muscle cells of the blood vessel wall and the myofibroblasts, and it is reasonable to hypothesize that they may play a pacemaker role, as in the intestine. This study provide new information supporting the notion that the occurrence of oxidative stress in PE is not only related to endothelial dysfunction and apoptosis of the trophoblast cells, but also involves telocytes and its putative role in the regulation of fetal blood flow and the intra-placental blood volume. Some ideas aimed at dilucidating the relationship between placental failure and the behavior of telocytes in pathological organs in adulthood, are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) play a role as predictors of preeclampsia (PET) in pregnant women. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted in 2,002 singleton pregnancies that had a uterine artery (UtA) Doppler at 22-25 weeks and an OGTT. The UtA Doppler and OGTT were adjusted based on maternal characteristics, and the results were expressed as multiples of the expected normal median and compared between groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine whether maternal characteristics, OGTT, and UtA Doppler significantly contribute to the prediction of early- (<34 weeks), intermediate- (34-37 weeks), or late-onset (>37 weeks) PET. The performance of the screening was determined by ROC curves. Results: Women who developed PET were characterized by an older maternal age, an increased body mass index, and an altered UtA Doppler. The group with intermediate-onset PET was the only one associated with higher 2-hour OGTT levels compared to controls. Combined models were developed via logistic regression analysis using maternal characteristics, UtA Doppler, and OGTT to predict PET. These combined models were able to detect around 74, 42, and 21% of women who later developed early-, intermediate-, or late-onset PET, respectively, with only a 5% false-positive rate. Conclusions: This study shows that the combination of maternal characteristics, second-trimester UtA Doppler, and OGTT is a predictor of the development of PET in healthy pregnant women. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EP20.21: Combined predictive model of birthweight at diagnosis of early and late onset pre-eclampsia A multivariate linear regression analysis for birthweight prediction combining maternal characteristics, fetal biometry and UtA Doppler was determined for g-PE, e-PE and l-PE. For g-PE, the best birthweight predictive model included UtA z-score, estimated fetal weight (EFW) z-score, maternal smoking habit and diabetes mellitus background (r = 0.88; p < 0.0001). [Extracted from the article]

An abstract of the article "Prediction of pre-eclampsia by maternal characteristic and biophysical markers during the first trimester of pregnancy" by M. Parra-Cordero and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Twin pregnancy: screening test for spontaneous preterm delivery and pre-eclampsia during the first trimester of pregnancy," by A. Sepúlveda-Martínez and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Maternal plasma nerve growth factor at 11 to 13 weeks as a novel angiogenic marker of pre-clampsia," by C. Romero and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Role of mean blood pressure as screening test for small-for-gestational age without pre-eclampsia during the first trimester of pregnancy," by J. Figueroa and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Twin pregnancy: screening test for spontaneous preterm delivery and pre-eclampsia during the first trimester of pregnancy" by M. Parra-Cordero and others, is presented.

An abstract of the article "First trimester predictive model of small-for-gestational age newborn without pre-eclampsia" by H. Maldonado, E. Valdes, G. Juarez and others is presented.

An abstract of the article "First and second trimester combined screening for pre-eclampsia" by E. Valdes and others, is presented.

An abstract of the article "A risk model for pre-eclampsia based on maternal characteristics and uterine artery Doppler during the first trimester of pregnancy," by M. Parra-Cordero, A. Sepulveda-Martinez, H. Muñoz, E. Valdes and D. Pedraza is presented.

An abstract of the article "Thyroid-stimulating hormone at 11+0 to 13+6 weeks of gestation and its role as screening for pre-eclampsia and small gestational age newborns," by M. Parra-Cordero, A. Sepulveda-Martinez, E. Valdes, C. Romero and S. Rivera is presented.

An abstract of the conference paper "Uterine artery Doppler during the first and second trimester as screening for early-onset preeclampsia," by M. Parra-Cordero, and colleagues is presented.