Introduction The placenta, translates how the fetus experiences the maternal environment and is a principal influence on birth weight (BW). Objective To explore the relationship between placental growth measures (PGMs) and BW in a public maternity hospital. Methods Observational retrospective study of 870 singleton live born infants at Hospital Maternidad Sardá, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, between January 2011 and August 2012 with complete data of PGMs. Details of history, clinical and obstetrical maternal data, labor and delivery and neonatal outcome data, including placental measures derived from the records, were evaluated. The following manual measurements of the placenta according to standard methods were performed: placental weight (PW, g), larger and smaller diameters (cm), eccentricity, width (cm), shape, area (cm(2)), BW/PW ratio (BPR) and PW/BW ratio (PBR), and efficiency. Associations between BW and PGMs were examined using multiple linear regression. Results Birth weight was correlated with placental weight (R(2) = 0.49, p < 0.001), whereas gestational age was moderately correlated with placental weight (R(2) = 0.64, p < 0.001). By gestational age, there was a positive trend for PW and BPR, but an inverse relationship with PBR (p < 0.001). Placental weight alone accounted for 49% of birth weight variability (p < 0,001), whereas all PGMs accounted for 52% (p < 0,001). Combined, PGMs, maternal characteristics (parity, pre-eclampsia, tobacco use), gestational age and gender explained 77.8% of BW variations (p < 0,001). Among preterm births, 59% of BW variances were accounted for by PGMs, compared with 44% at term. All placental measures except BPR were consistently higher in females than in males, which was also not significant. Indices of placental efficiency showed weakly clinical relevance. Conclusions Reliable measures of placental growth estimate 53.6% of BW variances and project this outcome to a greater degree in preterm births than at term. These findings would contribute to the understanding of the maternal-placental programming of chronic diseases.

The subcellular localization of 3H-imipramine binding sites in brain was investigated with the aim of learning about the possible mechanism of action of this antidepressant. The rat cerebral cortex was submitted to a systematic fractionation and both the nuclear and the synaptosomal fractions were purified by gradient centrifugation. Using a centrifugation assay for the binding, we found that the synaptosomal membranes had the highest specific activity and showed two binding sites, one of high affinity with a KD of 14 nM and a Bmax of 3.1 pmol per mg protein, and another of lower affinity with a KD of 99 nM and a Bmax of 14.2 pmol per mg protein. Purified nuclei have a lower specific activity than the synaptosomal membrane, specially when expressed per g tissue. On the other hand, myelin and capillaries have few binding sites. Synaptosomal membranes were treated with 0.1, 0.2 and 0.5% Triton X-100 to dissolve the pre- and post-synaptic membrane and submitted to 3H-imipramine binding in the presence of the detergent or after washing of the residue. The results obtained suggest that although most 3H-imipramine binding sites are localized pre-synaptically, a certain proportion are post-synaptic. These findings are discussed in relation to previous studies from this laboratory on the localization of central receptors with reference to the synaptic region and to the antidepressant action of imipramine.

AbstractsMethods A questionnaire was administered that addressed gender, age, number of household members, monthly family income, history of jaundice and immunization, number of rooms in the house, education level of the parents, day-care/school attendance, and type of water supply. The socioeconomic status score of each child was determined by summing the scores for monthly family income, education level of the parents, number of rooms in the house and number of people living in the house. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for anti-HAV IgG. Results Significant associations between anti-HAV seropositivity and socioeconomic status, age under 6 years old and attending daycare, a history of jaundice and monthly family income were found (p<0.001, p=0.003, p<0.001, p=0.04, respectively). Only the association between the history of jaundice and anti-HAV seropositivity remained significant in the multivariate analysis, with an adjusted Odds ratio of 13.1 (range: 2.9-59.5; p=0.001). Conclusions Our findings showed an inverse correlation between HAV seropositivity and socioeconomic status. A high in-house population and paternal education level were not a significant factor increasing the risk of anti-HAV positivity. However, as the maternal education level increased, less HAV positivity was recorded. Background and Aims Toxoplasmosis is a cosmopolitan infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii, clinical features varying from asymptomatic infection to severe systemic manifestations. Brazil has one of the highest incidence rates of congenital toxoplasmosis in the world with estimated rates of 1:3000 live births. Knowledge of the incidence, etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and management of infections during pregnancy, childbirth and neonatal period is relevant because it may cause damage to the fetus and newborn, representing a public health problem worldwide. The aim of this study is evaluate the quality of neonatal screening for congenital toxoplasmosis. Methods Retrospective study based on data collected from the medical records of 39 newborns Alcides Carneiro Hospital (HAC) in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 2010 to February 2012 whose mothers had seroconversion for toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. We analyzed maternal serology and treatment and clinical manifestations, laboratory and radiological newborn. Results Forty percent of pregnant women under which seroconverted in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, 33% at 2 and 13% in first trimester. Underwent treatment 35%, 15% and 0% respectively. There were no clinical manifestations of congenital toxoplasmosis, all showed negative IgM and IgG positive 62%. In imaging tests, 5% had changed transfontanel ultrasound (49% unknown), 1% fundoscopy losses (51% ignored), and skull radiography unchanged (23% ignored). Conclusion Given the survey data, we conclude that there was poor adherence to native implementation of adequate prenatal care, underestimation of suspected cases with disabilities in serological screening, limited availability of laboratory diagnosti...

AbstractsConclusion The IHPS incidence declined by about 38% nationwide. The wide variation in time and different regions is significantly correlated with maternal age and history of migration.