Omics technologies hold great potential as the basis for development of the new diagnostic approaches in obstetrics. Cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) as part of the mother-placenta-fetus system can be used to diagnose obstetric complications. This study aimed to identify the features of lipid composition of the cervical canal secretion peculiar to Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) and preeclampsia (PE). We took CVF samples from 57 pregnant women and subjected them to an in-depth clinical-anamnestic and mass-spectrometric analysis. Lipid extracts of CVF were analyzed with a liquid chromatography system coupled with a mass analyzer. As a result, we identified 239 lipid compounds. In case of 17 lipids, mathematical analysis revealed significant differences between samples from women with normal pregnancy indicator values (normal group) and patients from the IUGR group (p < 0.05). As for the normal group and PE group patients, there were significant differences identified for 3 lipids (p < 0.05). Comparison of samples from the PE and IUGR groups yielded statistically significant differences in levels of two lipids (p < 0.05). Mainly, the lipids were oxylipins, sphingomyelins, triglycerides, and cardiolipins. The developed diagnostic model had the sensitivity of 0.81 and specificity of 0.91 (cut-off level — 0.50; AUC — 0.85). The data obtained are valuable in the context of development of the new methods of diagnosing placentaassociated complications of pregnancy and for understanding new mechanisms of pathogenesis of these complications.
VIEWS 1893
Traditionally, anthropometric method is used in clinical practice for the diagnosis of excess body weight. Obesity is the excess development of primarily visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue, which can be diagnosed by bioimpedance analysis (BIA). The study was aimed to assess the role of BIA of body composition in the diagnosis of the physical development disorders in children and adolescents. Anthropometric assessment and BIA were performed in 431 Samara school students aged 12–16 of the health status groups I and II (230 boys and 201 girls). The results were analyzed with the use of the regional regression scores, BAZ indices, and the body fat percentage values. The results of estimation using the regression scores showed that 22.61% of boys and 23.43% of girls were overweight, while more than 2/3 of the sample had a normal pattern of physical development. The BAZ indices revealed a significantly higher proportion of overweight children among boys (25.7%), than among girls (11.5%, p < 0.01). The body fat percentage fluctuations based on the BIA data were found not only in children with disharmonious physical development, but also in 60% of children with normal body weight. Moreover, the data of BIA confirmed the body weight fluctuations, revealed with the use of the regression scores, in the significantly larger number of cases compared to the low body weight and excess body weight, diagnosed based on the BAZ indices. Accordingly, anthropometric analysis with the use of the regional regression scores may be used at the baseline for the early diagnosis of the nutritional status disorders in children. To confirm overweight and obesity in children, as well as to provide further treatment, the reliable method for estimation of the body fat content is required, which may be the method of BIA.
VIEWS 1963
Back pain (BP), associated with the degenerative disc disease (DDD), poses a heavy social and economic burden due to early disability and indications to surgery, emerging in young adults. Pathophysiological basis of premature intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is being actively studied. The study was aimed to define the profiles of inflammatory cytokines in DDD, as well as their relationship to the structural spine diseases. The molecular genetic analysis of the mRNA gene abundance in patients with BP and herniated IVD after discectomy and healthy individuals was performed by the quantitative polymerase chain reaction method. High expression of TNFα, IL17 was revealed in the IVD tissues of the affected patients (p < 0.01); the levels of TNFα and IL1β correlated with the DDD severity (r = 0.301 and 0.37; p < 0.05). Elevated expression of IL1β, IL6 was found in peripheral white blood cells (p < 0.01); the levels of IL6 negatively correlated with Modic type 1 and 2 changes (r = –0.31; p < 0.05), and the levels of IL17 positively correlated with the IVD herniation in combination with erosions of the adjacent vertebral body endplates and Modic changes (r = 0.401; p < 0.05). The expression of VEGF-А in the IVD tissues and white blood cells negatively correlated with the DDD grades (r = –0.85; p < 0.001), indicating reduced vascularization in the terminal phase of the disease. The findings on DDD demonstrate the contribution of the local low-immune inflammation, coupled with the intense disc vascularization at the earlier stages, and associated with the reactive inflammation in vertebral bodies. The results are prerequisites for developing the anti-inflammatory and reparative therapy based on the DDD grade and the presence of Modic changes in young adults with BP.
VIEWS 1932
Currently, surgical treatment aimed to exclude the malignant ovarian tumors is performed in almost 90% of patients with decidualized endometrial cysts (DEC). However, unnecessary surgical interventions increase the risk to maternal and fetal health. The study was aimed to perform a differential diagnosis of DEC in pregnant women in order to define the rational treatment. A total of 82 female patients were included in the study: 63 had endometrial cysts (EC), 16 had DEC, 3 had rare forms of endometriosis, and 10 had ovarian serous papillary borderline tumors. When performing the diagnostic ultrasound, our proposed model was used. The ultrasound imaging data obtained were juxtaposed with the concentration of the protein tumor markers (СА-125), the risk of malignancy index (RMI) was calculated, and the morphological assessment of the masses was performed. The ultrasound imaging parameters, being the most valuable for differential diagnosis of EC, DEC, and serous borderline tumors, were as follows: the altered mass wall thickness, the existence and shape of papillary masses, avascular echogenic inclusions with blurry contour, blood circulation and arrangement of blood vessels, ascites. The frequency analysis revealed the differences between groups based on the ultrasound imaging data (in 60–100% of observations). Histological examination revealed the differences between groups in 100% of observations. Our findings have made it impossible to prolong pregnancy in patients with DEC without performing surgery. The results of treatment provided to patients with DEC during pregnancy were worse compared to those in patients with no prominent decidualization in ovarian EC. Today, the diagnosis of DEC and the treatment of patients during pregnancy remain unsophisticated. Further clinical observation and the search for more reliable methods of the diagnosis and rational treatment of pregnant women with DEC are required.
VIEWS 1831