The preterm deliveries are the leading cause of the perinatal morbidity and represent important mortality indicators. Functional cervical insufficiency, which is a phenotypic manifestation of undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia, plays the main role in the development of pregnancy complications in primigravidas (women pregnant for the first time) and primiparas (women giving birth for the first time). Aim of the research: to study the indicators of connective tissue metabolism and basic microelements in order to determine the role of undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia in the pathogenesis of functional cervical insufficiency during pregnancy. Methods. The 101 pregnant women (the main group) at the 22–32 week gestation period which were diagnosed with “Functional cervical insufficiency” were examined, as well as 34 pregnant women with the physiological obstructive function of the cervix (the control group). Utilizing immunoenzyme analysis we measured in blood serum the concentration of Total P1NP the amino-terminal propeptide of procollagen type I a marker of synthesis, and β-CrossLaps resorptions marker of the connective tissue. Utilizing the automatic analyzer of electrolytes and a set of reagents for their determination we estimated the content of microelements Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and total Ca and P. Results. The functional cervical insufficiency in pregnant women was indicated by cervical shortening up to 22.88±1.02 mm, and the majority of women (76.2 %) had phenotypical manifestations of undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia. We found a significant increase in the concentration of marker of synthesis Total P1NP, whereas the concentration of resorption marker β-CrossLaps remains normal, and strong reverse correlation (r=–0.7362) between the index of cervix length and concentration of marker of connective tissue synthesis Total P1NP. We detected a significant increase in the concentration of total and ionized calcium, total phosphorus, deficiency of ionized magnesium, potassium and sodium that lead to changes in the structure of connective tissue and reduction of cervical obstructive function.

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▼ Purpose: To evaluate the eff ects of direct current (DC) on the cartilaginous metabolism in an experimental osteoarthritis (OA) animal model. Materials and Methods: In a randomized, controlled trial, 45 animals were divided into 5 equal groups, each consisting of 9 rabbits. The 1 st group was the intact control group and the 2 nd group was the OA control group. The rabbits ' injured knee joints were treated with DC of diff erent intensities: 0.01 mA / cm 2 (group 3), 0.1 mA / cm 2 (group 4), and 0.2 mA / cm 2 (group 5). The content of collagen in the cartilage, the collagenase enzyme activity in the blood and the content of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the cartilage tissue and in the blood were evaluated. Results: An increase of collagen in the cartilage after exposure to a DC intensity of 0.2 mA / cm 2 to 6.0 ± 0.5 μ g / g (group 5) was found, compared to 4.2 ± 0.3 μ g / g (OA control). Collagenase enzyme activity in the blood decreased to 5.1 ± 0.4 μ mol / l · h (group 5) in comparison with the OA control (6.8 ± 0.4 μ mol / l · h). The GAG content in the cartilage amounted to 8.7 ± 0.7 μ g / mg and to 6.4 ± 0.4 μ g / mg in group 5 and OA control, accordingly. The GAG content in the blood decreased from 0.066 ± 0.005 g / l (OA control) to 0.051 ± 0.004 g / l under DC infl uence of 0.2 mA / cm 2 (group 5). Conclusions: DC (0.2 mA / cm 2 ) locally stimulates the metabolic process in the cartilaginous tissue and systemically in the blood after OA in vivo, indicating the therapeutic mechanism of DC.

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