Endocrine Abstracts

Animal studies suggest that circulating IGF-1 concentrations are influenced by hypoxia. To test whether a similar situation pertains in humans we related cord IGF-1 concentrations to cord pH in the babies of 1650 Caucasian mothers delivering at term. All pregnancies were singleton and antenatal growth and uterine blood flow was assessed at 20 and 32 weeks gestation. Hypoxia was chronic if associated with preeclampsia in non-smokers and acute based on cord pH. Effects of cigare...

Thyroid hormone (TH) is essential for fetal development and before 14 weeks maternal supply of TH is critical to the fetus. Subtle abnormalities of maternal thyroid status have been reported to affect neurodevelopment in childhood (1,2). To explore this further, we examined the relationship between maternal thyroid status and newborn measures of growth potential. A cohort of uncomplicated pregnant women (n=480) was recruited. At antenatal booking (mean gestation 13.05 weeks) m...