• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2008

Twenty years have passed since a prenatal screening for Down syndrome and neural tube defect was applied to obstetric field. The Quad test (AFP, hCG, uE3, Inhibin-A) of the second trimester and the combination test (PAPP-A, hCG, NT) of the first trimester became popular now. The recent trend of prenatal screening is to combine these two screening tests together in order to increase a detection rate of Down syndrome. Three types of screening methods are introduced as follows; integrated test, sequential test and contingent test. In addition to combination of each test, an incorporation of characteristic ultrasound findings of Down syndrome is suggested for its risk calculation. The absence of fetal nasal bone would be a very useful marker especially in the first trimester screening test. According to a change of way calculating risk of Down syndrome, obstetrician's role will be more increased not by passive participation, but by active participation using ultrasound in risk calculation.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.237-244
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• 1985

The plasma protein patterns of non-pregnant women, pregnant women, and normal male individuals were analyzed by SDS/polyacrylamide gel electrophresis. When the protein patterns of plasma of normal male individuals ranging from 10, 000 to 110, 000 daltons in molecular weights are compared to non-pregnant women, their protein patterns were the same. In this study, when the plasma of non-pregnant women are compared to pregnant women, no bands were occurred newly, but the quantity of some protein bands were increased or decreased during the pregnant periods. According to the results of measuring the molecular weights of the characteristic protein patterns, which are increasing or decreasing during the pregnancy as compared to the non-pregnant women, it was observed that the proteins over 76, 000 daltons in molecular weights were concerned in the facts mentioned above. That is, the protein of 86, 000 dalton in molecular weight was not increased in quantity until the second trimester of pregnancy, but was increased in the third trimester of pregnancy. The proteins of 91, 000-105, 000 daltons in molecular weights were gradually increased in accordance with the periods of pregnancy. On the contrary, the protein of 94, 000 dalton was rather decreased by the second trimester of pregnancy, but increased in the third trimester of pregancy. And the band of 99, 000 dalton was not changed in quantity significantly until the first trimester of pregnancy, but increased continuously from the second trimester of pregnancy to the third trimester of pregnancy. We tentatively suggest that the stages (the first, the second, and the third trimester) of pregnancy can be identified by the study on the protein patterns of the specific bands in the blood plasma of pregnant women.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.167-174
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• 2015

Objectives: This study is to evaluate the effect of KI06 acupuncture point in the first trimester vaginal bleeding of a threatened abortion patient. Methods: A patient of threatened abortion was treated consequently with KI06 acupuncture point, and the result was inspected and evaluated using sono. Results: After consequent 4 times KI06 acupuncture point treatments, amount and frequency of bleeding in a patient of threatened abortion decreased to 80%, 50%, 20%, 10%. after more treatment the first trimester vaginal bleeding was improved completely. Conclusions: Treatment of KI06 acupuncture point in a threatened abortion patient was effective and further study is needed.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.282-286
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• 2002

Anemia is prevalent among pregnant women in Korea, and Fe deficiency anemia is a major nutritional problem throughout the world. Because studies of Cu, Mn, and Cr levels excluding Fe are rare, we were interested in changes in the nutritional status of these trace minerals and their relationship to hematogenesis. Accordingly, we determined the changes in plasma Fe, Cu, Mn, and Cr concentrations of maternal and umbilical cord blood during pregnancy, and evaluated the relationships between them at different time points during pregnancy. A total of 81 women participated in the study: 26 subjects in the first trimester, 23 in the second, and 32 in the third trimester. Plasma Fe levels were lower significantly (p<0.05) in the third trimester. Plasma Cu level ($\mu\textrm{g}$/dL) in each trimester were 86.6$\pm$13.8, 111.6$\pm$27.9, and 114.0$\pm$29.7, respectively; with significant increases (p<0.()5) in the second and third trimester. Plasma Mn concentrations (pg/dL) in each trimester were 212.6$\pm$89.0, 234.0$\pm$140.0, and 240.3$\pm$166.0, respectively and tended to increase, though not significantly, as the pregnancies progressed. The plasma concentrations of Cr (pg/dL) in each trimester were 3.7$\pm$2.0, 3.1$\pm$1.0, and 2.4$\pm$1.2, respectively; and was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the third trimester. In umbilical cord blood, the plasma level of Fe was 194.8$\pm$74.6 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dL, Cu was 57.5$\pm$10.9 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dL, Mn was 482.4$\pm$111.1 pg/dL, and Cr was 9.3$\pm$2.8 pg/dL. Plasma concentrations of Fe, Cu, Mn, and Cr of cord blood were 300 %, 50 %, 200 %, and 370% as compared to those of maternal blood in the third trimester. These results suggest that an active transport mechanism for the transport of Fe, Mn, and Cr from mother to fetus may exist, whereas, for Cu, the placenta appears to have a blocking effect on the transport from mother to baby.

• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.195-200
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• 2006

We surveyed Korean pregnant women who participated in the Maeil mothers' club and factory tour from March to April, 2004 and assessed volunteers' hemoglobin (Hb) levels. The average Hb level of 747 subjects was $11.5{\pm}1.5g/dl$ and anemic subjects were 268 women, 35.9% of total subjects. The ratio of anemic subjects was 42.9% in the first trimester, 43.6% in the second trimester and 29.1 % in the third trimester. About 87.9% of subjects began to take health foods after conception. Seventy nine percent of subjects took iron supplement as one of health foods and 73.8% of them began it in the second trimester. The results of this study showed that health foods were more effective than iron supplement alone in improving the iron status of Korean pregnant women. Therefore, the better improvement effects are expected when pregnant women begin health food-based approaches as early as possible before pregnancy to improve pre-pregnancy iron reserve.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.135-142
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• 1998

Maternal weight gain during pregnancy has been consistently associated with infant birth weight and pregnancy outcome. Our purpose was to determine the relationship between maternal weight gain pattern and birth weight. Consequently, maternal weight gain is monitored carefully and is encouraged during prenatal care in order to improve pregnancy outcome. Our study group included both 424 uncomplicated women and infant delivered at the Yeungnam University Hospital between 1993-1996. All recorded prenatal weight gain measurements were used to estimate maternal trimester weight gain, pattern of gain (based on low versus not-low gain at each trimester), and total gain at delivery. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between these weight gain measurements and fetal birth weight. Each kilogram of maternal gain in the first, second, and third trimesters was associated with statistically related to the increase in fetal birth weight by 31.3, 19.0, and 24.5g, respectively. When compaired with the pattern of gain that was not low in any trimester, patterns with low gain in the first trimesters were associated with significant decreases in birth weight, but no important change in birth weight was seen for the group whose gains were not low in the first trimester. The results suggest that specific patterns of maternal weight gain, particularly weight gain during the first trimester, are related to fetal birth weight.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.227-234
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• 2007

Recent epidemiologic studies show that gestational exposure to air pollution adversely affects pregnancy outcomes including low birth weight in preform birth. In this study, we evaluated the effect of air pollutants on LBW (low birth weight) on firstborn fetus throughout the gestational period using the birth cohort between 1999 and 2003 in Seoul. Using birth cohort data from the National Statistics Office of Korea we identified 288,346 firstborn births (excluded missing data on lack of information for birth weight and discordance between residential and certificated address from a total of 316,451) during 1999 to 2003 with complete covariate (gender, parity, date of birth, gestational age, parental age and educational level, maternal occupation etc.) and maternal residential history data. Our subjects were defined as more than 37 weeks and less than 44 weeks of completed gestation and we identified 5,457 persons (1.89%) by low birth weight (<2.5 kg) in this study. Using logistic regression, we estimated the risk of mean (entire pregnancy and trimester period) air pollution concentrations for CO, $O_3,\;PM_{10},\;NO_2\;and\;SO_2$. In terms of trimester-specific exposure, we found that some air pollutants exposure in each trimester would increase the risk for LBW. Results also showed that the effect size of air pollutants exposure during the first and third trimester is higher than during the second trimester. In all trimester, the estimated risk of LBW was 1.831 (95% CI=1.573-2.132) with unit increase for CO, 1.139 (95% CI=1.107-1.172) for 50, and 1.009 (95% CI=1.001-1.017) for $O_3$. Our results suggest that exposure during the gestation period to relatively low levels of some air pollutants may be associated with a reduction in birth weight on first-born fetus. These findings implicate the effective risk management strategies should be applied to minimize the public health impacts for pregnant women.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2018

Sonographic findings with little or no pathological significance, known as soft markers, are often found in aneuploidy fetuses. After normal screening for the aneuploidy in first trimester, there are no uniform recommendations regarding when to disregard or put on clinical significance in isolated soft markers. Associations between some soft markers and adverse pregnancy outcomes including intrauterine fetal death, preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, and congenital infection have been reported in euploidy fetuses. The present article aims to review recent literatures about the clinical significance of soft markers after normal first trimester combined screening or noninvasive prenatal testing, and propose a simple clinical summary for management of specific soft markers in pregnancies.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.43-48
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• 2014

Chorionic villus sampling has gained importance as a tool for early cytogenetic diagnosis with a shift toward first trimester screening. First trimester screening using nuchal translucency and biomarkers is effective for screening. Chorionic villus sampling generally is performed at 10-12 weeks by either the transcervical or transabdominal approach. There are two methods of analysis; the direct method and the culture method. While the direct method may prevent maternal cell contamination, the culture method may be more representative of the true fetal karyotype. There is a concern for mosaicism which occurs in approximately 1% of cases, and mosaic results require genetic counseling and follow-up amniocentesis or fetal blood sampling. In terms of complications, procedure-related pregnancy loss rates may be the same as those for amniocentesis when undertaken in experienced centers. When the procedure is performed after 9 weeks gestation, the risk of limb reduction is not greater than the risk in the general population. At present, chorionic villus sampling is the gold standard method for early fetal karyotyping; however, we anticipate that improvements in noninvasive prenatal testing methods, such as cell free fetal DNA testing, will reduce the need for invasive procedures in the near future.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.33-37
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• 2013

Autophagy is a degradation process that acts in response to environmental stressors. Recently, autophagy has been detected in normal term, preeclamptic and intrauterine growth-restricted placentas. The object of this work was to investigate the presence of autophagy in first trimester voluntary interruption of pregnancy placental villi by the expression of autophagy-related proteins, light chain 3 (LC3), and Beclin-1. In first trimester placental villi laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) analysis revealed LC3 and Beclin-1 immunoreactivity prevalently located in villous cytotrophoblasts. Using LSCM, LC3, and Beclin-1 were localized to the cytoplasm of the trophoblast layer in human full-term placentas. Beclin-1 expression and LC3 activation were confirmed by western blotting. These data emphasize that autophagy activation is different among cytotrophoblasts and syncytiotrophoblasts depending on the gestational age and thus we speculate that autophagy might play a prosurvival role throughout human pregnancy.