Topic
Fetus
About: Fetus is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 21567 publications have been published within this topic receiving 646380 citations. The topic is also known as: foetus & fœtus.
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TL;DR: Children born to mothers who smoke are more likely to suffer from respiratory problems such as asthma, problems of the ear, nose and throat and may have a physical or learning disability.
Abstract: Smoking during pregnancy can lead to a higher risk of miscarriage, complications during labour, low birth weight and sudden infant death. Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of infant mortality by an estimated 40%. Children born to mothers who smoke are more likely to suffer from respiratory problems such as asthma, problems of the ear, nose and throat and may have a physical or learning disability. (Public Health England).
221 citations
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TL;DR: It is hypothesized that autoantibodies against folate receptors in women may be associated with pregnancy complicated by a neural-tube defect, and serum from 12 women who were or had been pregnant with a fetus with a Neural-Tube defect was analyzed.
Abstract: Background In the absence of clinical folate deficiency, periconceptional supplementation with folic acid reduces a woman's risk of having an infant with a neural-tube defect. Since antiserum to folate receptors induces embryo resorption and malformations in rats, we hypothesized that autoantibodies against folate receptors in women may be associated with pregnancy complicated by a neural-tube defect. Methods Serum from 12 women who were or had been pregnant with a fetus with a neural-tube defect and from 24 control women (20 with current or prior normal pregnancies and 4 who were nulligravid) was analyzed for autoantibodies by incubation with human placental folate receptors radiolabeled with [3H]folic acid. The properties of these autoantibodies were characterized by incubating serum and the autoantibodies isolated from serum with placental membranes, ED27 cells, and KB cells, which express the folate receptors. Results Serum from 9 of 12 women with a current or previous affected pregnancy (index subjec...
221 citations
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TL;DR: Testing the hypothesis that superovulation in the mouse causes a delayed embryonic development in vitro and in vivo, an increased abnormal blastocyst formation, a pronounced fetal growth retardation, and an increased number of resorption sites suggests this observation in mice can be extrapolated to humans.
Abstract: Mouse and human embryos, cultured in vitro, undergo a delay in development compared with those grown in vivo. This delay can be caused by suboptimal culture conditions, but possible influences of ovarian stimulation cannot be excluded. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that both in vitro and in vivo, preimplantation embryonic development and postimplantation fetal development are impaired in superovulated female mice when compared with naturally cycling controls. A delay in in-vitro blastocyst hatching and in-vivo blastocyst formation (P < 0.03 and P < 0.0001 respectively) and a 40% fetal growth retardation (P < 0.0001) were observed after superovulation in comparison with naturally cycling controls. After transfer to non-stimulated foster mothers, blastocysts from stimulated females had a lower implantation rate (P < 0.005), and developed into fewer living fetuses (P < 0.02), more resorption sites (P < 0.02) and had more pronounced growth retardation (P < 0.0001) when compared with blastocysts from naturally cycling controls. In conclusion, superovulation in the mouse causes a delayed embryonic development in vitro and in vivo, an increased abnormal blastocyst formation, a pronounced fetal growth retardation, and an increased number of resorption sites. If this observation in mice can be extrapolated to humans, it may offer an explanation for the delay in embryonic development and the low birth weight observed after IVF.
220 citations
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TL;DR: The results of the spleen cultures demonstrated the synthesis of IgG and IgM, which starts at about the twentieth week of gestation, and agrees with a predominantly primary antibody response in fetal life.
Abstract: The immunogenesis of the human fetus has been investigated by means of the formation of immunoglobulins in vitro, immunofluorescence, morphological studies, and analysis of the immunoglobulins in the serum. Twenty fetuses which were born alive but died soon after delivery, were studied; their ages ranged from 13 to 31 weeks. The results of the spleen cultures demonstrated the synthesis of IgG and IgM, which starts at about the twentieth week of gestation. In the serum, IgM could be detected at about the same period. The immunofluorescent staining of the spleen tissue showed that medium sized and large lymphoid cells as well as plasma cells, even with Russell bodies, were positive for either IgG or IgM. The peripheral blood was also found to contain a small number of medium sized IgG and IgM-positive cells. Both the spleen and the peripheral blood showed a considerable number of fluorescent small lymphocytes which exclusively contained IgM. The relatively high ratio of IgM to IgG production prenatally as compared to the postnatal situation, agrees with a predominantly primary antibody response in fetal life. In general, the fetal thymus did not synthesize immunoglobulins. No indications for the synthesis of IgA and IgD during fetal life were found.
220 citations
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TL;DR: An increasing body of evidence suggests that neuroendocrine mechanisms differentiate and function from early in fetal life in many mammals, whereas in others with slower neural development this maturation occurs in the perinatal period.
Abstract: The neural control of fetal pituitary hormone secretion and the conceptualization of the integration of neural, neurotransmitter, neuromodulatory, and humoral signals in the fetus is an emerging field of interest. At an early stage in the construct of the neurosecretory neuron, Berta and Ernst Scharrer (1, 1a) proposed that neurosecretion is a phylogenetically “old and fundamental attribute of neural elements.” Not only is neurosecretion a primitive regulatory system but an increasing body of evidence suggests that neuroendocrine mechanisms differentiate and function from early in fetal life in many mammals, whereas in others with slower neural development this maturation occurs in the perinatal period. Among the earliest studies are those of Jost (2), who observed that decapitation of the male rabbit fetus impaired fetal testicular function. Neurohormones are present in the fetal hypothalamus at the time of its initial differentiation from the primitive forebrain, and it is likely that even before full m...
219 citations