HCG—A new kid on the block in prematurity prevention

Ticconi, Carlo; Piccione, Emilio; Belmonte, Alessia; Rao, Ch.V.

doi:10.1080/14767050600921315

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Placental hCG acts locally to stimulate progesterone synthesis within the human placenta, and also contributes to the maintenance of uterine quiescence [14]. Indeed, elevated placental hCG levels have been linked to pregnancy complications, such as preterm birth [60], fetal growth restriction (FGR) [61], and preeclampsia [62]. Importantly, high placental concentrations of BPA are associated with preeclampsia [4], and elevated plasma levels of BPA in pregnant women are linked to recurrent miscarriages [5] as well as FGR [6].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Bisphenol A disrupts gene expression in human placental trophoblast cells

Rajakumar

Guan

Langlois

et al. 2015

Reproductive Toxicology

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Bisphenol A disrupts gene expression in human placental trophoblast cells

Rajakumar

Guan

Langlois

et al. 2015

Reproductive Toxicology

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“…may play a significant role in maintaining pregnancy well after first trimester. (3) Mechanism of action of H.C.G. in treatment of threatened abortion maybe reduction of resistance against arterial blood flow.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…is a heterodimeric glycoprotein produced primarily in the placenta and has multiple endocrine, paracrine and immunoregulatory actions. (3) The importance of H.C.G. in maintenance of early pregnancy has been widely accepted, reports have highlighted a potential role of H.C.G.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…receptors in human myometrium are downregulated following the onset of labour, in both term and preterm deliveries. (3,4) H.C.G. in vitro acts by a type of mechanism connected to gas that can activate the plasma membrane of adenylate cyclase, thereby reducing specific gap junctions of myometrial cells and eventually decreasing surface tension of intracellular calcium, thus keeping myometer in zero phase of labour and causing uterine relaxation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (H.C.G.) in Suppression of Preterm Labour

Goswami¹,

Agrawal²

2015

jemds

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“…5 The maintenance of myometrial quiescence by hCG suggests, that it could be used for suppression of prematurely activated myometrial contractions, that are responsible for preterm births. 5,6 In fact, hCG has been shown to be effective in preventing preterm birth in a mouse model. 7 There are now five clinical studies testing hCG in the treatment of preterm births.…”

Section: Births Between 20mentioning

confidence: 99%

It is Time to Evaluate Human Chorionic Gonadotropin for the Treatment of Preterm Births

Rao¹

2015

Women Health Open J

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Births between 20th to 37 th completed gestational weeks are considered preterm. More births occur during late (34-36 weeks) than in early (before 34 weeks) preterm period. Preterm births account for more infant deaths than any other cause. The prematurely born infants have breathing problems, feeding difficulties, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, vision problems and hearing impairment. These complications are generally more severe in early than in late preterm born infants. Preterm infants require medical care in neonatal intensive care units for several weeks after birth. The surviving infants are at a greater risk for early death and life-long neurological and cognitive difficulties. All this medical care costs billions of US healthcare dollars. In addition, parents go through considerable amount of guilt and emotional trauma.The incidence of preterm births is about 9% in US and higher in third world countries. Despite the basic science and clinical research advances to better understand and control preterm births, the rates are increasing. The current therapies include β-androgenic agonists, calcium channel blockers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory compounds, nitric oxide donors, oxytocin antagonists, etc. Among them Magnesium sulfate (MgSO 4 ) is a popular first line therapy. Most of these drugs are only used for about 24-48 hours, so that the patients can be treated with corticosteroids to promote fetal lung maturity. The infants with relatively mature lungs have better survival chances. There is a clear unmet need to improve upon the current therapies to better control and treat preterm births.The paradigm shift on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) actions revealed that it can act on human myometrium.1 It contains hCG/luteinizing hormone receptors and their activation results in an inhibition of contractions.1-5 These findings are consistent with the notion that hCG promotes myometrial quiescence, which is a prerequisite for pregnancy initiation and continuation. 5 The quiescence declines as pregnancy advances, which permits myometrial stimulants to dominate so that they can facilitate normal labor progression. 5 The maintenance of myometrial quiescence by hCG suggests, that it could be used for suppression of prematurely activated myometrial contractions, that are responsible for preterm births. 5,6 In fact, hCG has been shown to be effective in preventing preterm birth in a mouse model. 7There are now five clinical studies testing hCG in the treatment of preterm births. 8-12Four of them were on women with active labor and the fifth was on women with a previous history of preterm births. [8][9][10][11][12] The studies on women with active labor were compared with MgSO 4 treatment. [8][9][10][11] The results showed that while hCG was equally effective, it did not have the side effects of MgSO 4 . [8][9][10][11] In the prophylactic study, hCG was found to be equally effective as vaginal micronized progesterone tablets with a better compliance rate than progesterone. 12Despite this encouraging data, t...

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HCG—A new kid on the block in prematurity prevention

Cited by 15 publications

References 33 publications

Bisphenol A disrupts gene expression in human placental trophoblast cells

Bisphenol A disrupts gene expression in human placental trophoblast cells

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (H.C.G.) in Suppression of Preterm Labour

It is Time to Evaluate Human Chorionic Gonadotropin for the Treatment of Preterm Births

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