Changes in rat cervical collagen during gestation and after antiprogesterone treatment as measured in vivo with light-induced autofluorescence
Article Abstract:
The use of a new technique to measure cervical connective tissue protein may indicate that this protein decreases as delivery of a pregnancy approaches. Researchers used light-induced autofluorescence to measure cervical connective tissue protein in pregnant rats. The amount of cervical protein decreased about two days before delivery, and this decrease continued until delivery. Antiprogestin treatments that induced preterm birth also caused decreases in cervical protein. The decrease may be caused by protein breakdown or by a change in the protein itself. Light-induced autofluorescence may be a useful noninvasive method for measuring changes in the cervix during pregnancy and labor. It may be able to predict preterm labor and premature rupture of the membranes.
Publication Name: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9378
Year: 1995
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Onapristone (ZK 98.299): a potential antiprogestin for endometrial contraception
Article Abstract:
The antiprogestin drug onapristone (ZK 98.299) may be effective in preventing pregnancy without disrupting ovulation or menstrual cycles. Onapristone works by preventing the development of the inside of the uterus so that it will not receive a fertilized ovum. Researchers tested doses of 2.5 milligrams (mg) or 5 mg of onapristone or placebo on adult monkeys and found that all of the monkeys receiving placebo became pregnant, but only one of nine monkeys on onapristone became pregnant. The one monkey who became pregnant while taking onapristone had a markedly shorter menstrual cycle than the other monkeys. Onapristone may provide contraception if given in small doses throughout the menstrual cycle.
Publication Name: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9378
Year: 1995
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The relaxation responses to corticotropin-releasing factor in rat aorta are endothelium dependent and gestationally regulated
Article Abstract:
Pregnancy and the lining of the aorta may regulate the relaxation response of the rat aorta. Researchers studied the relaxation response of the rat aorta to corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) hormone in precontracted rings of thoracic aorta from pregnant and nonpregnant rats. The relaxation response to CRF decreased in late pregnancy, but was similar in early pregnancy and in the nonpregnant state. Aortas with mechanically disrupted linings also had a reduced relaxation response to CRF. The relaxation response is channeled through the nitric oxide-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway.
Publication Name: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9378
Year: 1997
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