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BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Apelin plays an important role in regulating energy intake and homeostasis. This study aims to investigate the relationship between maternal serum apelin-36 and infants' anthropometric markers up to 18 months after birth. MATERIAL & METHODS: In this cohort study, 166 pregnant women aged 18-40 years old third trimester period referred to the Prenatal Clinic, participated in this study. The women were divided into two groups: an elective cesarean section group (as an exposure; n = 23), and a vaginal delivery group (as a non-exposure; n = 22). Maternal serum Apelin-36 levels were measured during the third trimester period and after delivery using ELISA. Infants were followed for up to 18 months during the postpartum period. RESULTS: The serum level of Apelin-36 after delivery was significantly and positively correlated with the weight of infants at 12 months, and 18 months P<0.05. It was also correlated with the height of infants at 6 months P<0.05 and 18 months P<0.05. Additionally, Apelin-36 was significantly correlated with the head circumference at 12 months P < 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: The maternal serum Apelin-36 level showed a relationship with the infant's anthropometric indicators and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: After childbirth, sexual dysfunction refers to a chain of psychiatric, physiological, social changes and a couple's experiences. The purpose of our Systematic Review (Syst.Rev.) is to evaluate available high-quality evidence and construct a Bio Psycho Social (BPS) model of couple's sexual function after childbirth. Materials and Methods: A systematic search was done with MeSH terms in databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Science direct. A total number of 9 Syst.Rev. were evaluated from 2009 to 2019 years. The quality of extracted articles was evaluated based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist of contents using two qualified reviewers. Data synthesis was performed using the thematic analysis. Results: Biopsychosocial Model of Postpartum Couple's Sexual Function (BMPCSF) is proposed as a developmental process similar to Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Systems Model. Studies showed a significant relationship among the type of childbirth, trauma of perineum, breastfeeding, mood swings, fears, changes in the self-body image, spousal support, and Postpartum Sexual Dysfunction (PSD). Hence, the evidence about male sexuality in the postpartum period doesn't seem sufficient. Conclusions: The information from this study will help health policymakers develop the appropriate guidelines to inform couples and healthcare professionals about the BPS changes after childbirth and PSD. Besides, BMPCSF can be used in postpartum sexual counseling to improve sexual health and marital relationships. We propose comprehensive original study on couples' postpartum sexuality, especially men's conduct, emphasizing socio-cultural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Childbearing is an important phenomenon among adolescents. Studies that have evaluated teenagers' reproductive patterns have found that many adolescents are ambivalent regarding sexual activity and childbearing. In order to assess the patterns of adolescents' reproductive health and pregnancy to conduct interventions, every country needs to collect specific data about childbearing intentions. This study was conducted to determine the factors that may affect the childbearing intentions of adolescents. Materials and Methods: This article was a narrative review. Articles derived from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from January of 2000 to February 2015 were assessed. Moreover, gray literature, such as conference abstracts, theses, and the result of technical reports were also used. Results: In total, 15 studies were included in the review. The findings of this study showed that childbearing motives are affected by several factors. According to the results of the qualitative studies, some of the most important effective factors were women's decision-making power and financial issues. In this regard, the quantitative studies noted that the cultural and economic factors were more effective than other factors in determining the childbearing motives of adolescents. Conclusions: Fertility expectations are affected by several factors and are compatible with a variety of conditions. Moreover, access to precise information on the effects of each factor (positive or negative) is necessary and useful for demographers, policymakers, and other planners in any community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Recently there is a focus on the antioxidants as adjuvant treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most endocrinopathy in reproductive age women. Objective: The aim of this review is answer to the question whether antioxidants are effective for managing of hormonal and metabolic problems in women with PCOS based on first degree evidences from Iran. Materials and Methods: A systematic review of clinical trials was done in Persian and international databases including PubMed, Scientific Information Database, Google Scholar, Iran Medex, and Magiran up to 2013. Keywords were including polycystic ovary syndrome, Iran, vitamin, antioxidant. From 440 potential studies found electronically, 11 studies; including 444 women in intervention and 390 women in control groups. Intervention in three studies was Calcium-vitamin D or calcitriol; in three studies was co-3 fatty acids; in two studies was N-acetyl cysteine; in one study was folic acid; in one study was Zinc; and in one study was Soy. Results: Finally, 11 studies that were relevant and met the inclusion criteria reviewed. There were 7 studies in English and 4 studies in Persian. We couldn't include all studies because all full texts were not accessible. Conclusion: The results showed that antioxidants and vitamins have positive effects on management of PCOS women. Although it seems more studies is necessary in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epilepsy and intraventricular-cerebral hemorrhage is a common complication irreversible in preterm infants. Inflammation leads to an increase in intracellular calcium, acidosis, and oxygen usage, and finally, may damage brain cells. Increases in HIF-1a and HVCN1 can reduce the complications of oxygen consumption and acidosis in infants with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). On the other hand, decreases in S100B can shield nerve cells from apoptosis and epilepsy by reducing brain damage., Objective: In this research, we investigated how miR-138-siRNAs-HIF-1a and miR-21- siRNAs-HVCN1 affect apoptosis in hypoxic mice., Methods: On the first and third days after delivery, the YKL40, HIF-1a, HVCN1, and S100b genes were compared between two groups of preterm infants with and without maternal inflammation. Afterward, the miRNAs were transfected into cell lines to monitor variations in YKL40, HIF-1a, HVCN1, and S100b gene expression and nerve cell apoptosis. We changed the expression of S100b, HVCN1, and HIF-1a genes by using specific siRNAs injected into mice. Using real-time PCR, Western blotting, flow cytometry (FCM), and immunofluorescence, and changes in gene expression were evaluated (IHC)., Results: HVCN1 gene expression showed a strong negative correlation with epilepsy in both groups of infants (Pβ0.001). Significant correlations between epilepsy and the expression levels of the S100b, YKL40, and HIF-1a genes were found (Pβ0.001). According to FCM, after transfecting miRNA-431 and miRNA-34a into cell lines, the apoptosis index (A.I.) were 41.6 3.3 and 34.5 5.2%, respectively, while the A.I. were 9.6 2.7 and 7.1 4.2% after transfecting miRNA-21 and miRNA-138. MiR-138-siRNAs-HIF-1a and miR-21-siRNAs-HVCN1 were simultaneously injected into hypoxic mice, and IHC double-labeling revealed that this reduced apoptosis and seizures compared to the hypoxic group., Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that miR-138-siRNAs-HIF-1a and miR-21-siRNAs- HVCN1 injections prevent cerebral ischemia-induced brain damage in hypoxia mice by increasing HVCN1 and HIF-1a and decreasing S100b, which in turn lessens apoptosis and epilepsy in hypoxic mice., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Background: Childbearing is an important phenomenon among adolescents. Studies that have evaluated teenagers' reproductive patterns have found that many adolescents are ambivalent regarding sexual activity and childbearing. In order to assess the patterns of adolescents' reproductive health and pregnancy to conduct interventions, every country needs to collect specific data about childbearing intentions. This study was conducted to determine the factors that may affect the childbearing intentions of adolescents., Materials and Methods: This article was a narrative review. Articles derived from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from January of 2000 to February 2015 were assessed. Moreover, gray literature, such as conference abstracts, theses, and the result of technical reports were also used., Results: In total, 15 studies were included in the review. The findings of this study showed that childbearing motives are affected by several factors. According to the results of the qualitative studies, some of the most important effective factors were women's decision-making power and financial issues. In this regard, the quantitative studies noted that the cultural and economic factors were more effective than other factors in determining the childbearing motives of adolescents., Conclusions: Fertility expectations are affected by several factors and are compatible with a variety of conditions. Moreover, access to precise information on the effects of each factor (positive or negative) is necessary and useful for demographers, policymakers, and other planners in any community., Competing Interests: Nothing to declare., (Copyright: © 2019 Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research.)

Objective: Visfatin is an adipocytokine that functions as an enzyme and a growth factor to investigate the relationship between serum visfatin and the fetus's anthropometric markers up to a year after birth., Materials and Methods: Forty-one eligible pregnant women in their first trimester were divided and matched in terms of body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy into normal and higher than normal BMI groups, A and B. Serum visfatin levels were measured during 6-12 and 15-20 weeks of gestation using ELISA., Results: The infants were followed up for a mean duration of 10.19±2.83 months. In group A, there was a strong positive relationship between birth head circumference and the first (p 1 =0.054, r 1 =0.580) and second trimester visfatin levels (p 2 =0.051, r 2 =0.530). In group B, second trimester visfatin levels correlated negatively with birth length (p=0.015, r=-0.523) and infant's head circumference (p 2 =0.050, r 2 =-0.392). In a separate study on group B, visfatin levels in the first and second trimesters showed a significant negative correlation with infant's weight. A significant correlation was observed between the first and second trimesters visfatin level with infant's height in both groups, such that this relationship was positive in group A and negative in group B. Linear regression analysis revealed that first and second trimester visfatin levels were significant independent predictors of infant's weight in group B and infant's height in both groups. Second trimester visfatin level was a significant predictor of birth height in group B., Conclusion: Maternal serum visfatin level shows a relationship with fetal and infant anthropometric indicators, with different effects in the two groups, suggesting visfatin dysfunction in the overweight group before pregnancy., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

This case-control study was carried out in a university-affiliated teaching hospital, Tehran city, Iran. A total of 312 newly diagnosed cases aged less than 40 years old participated and were matched for age and ethnicity with 312 controls. The results showed that in women who never married (OR=2.42 95%CI=1.51-3.88) (P<0.001), had a family history of breast cancer (OR=7.07 95%CI=2.95-16.99) (P<0.001), a low age of menarche (OR=0.1 95% CI=0.04-0.23) (P<0.001)), lower parity (OR=13.3 95% CI=3.89-45.66) (P<0.001) and took oral contraceptive pills (OR= 2.83 95% CI=1.87-4.24) (P<0.000) were at increased risk. A direct association with age at first birth was also evident(P=0.041), with a significantly inverse association between duration of lactation and breast cancer risk (p=0.016). On multivariate logistic regression, parity, family history of breast cancer, use of oral contraceptive pills, and age at first birth remained significant. In women lower than 40 years of age, breast cancer risk was significantly higher in women with parity≥4 compared with nulliparity but no association emerged with history of breast-feeding. Other risk factors were similar to those described in breast cancer epidemiology at any age.