Endocrine Abstracts

The production and activities of steroid hormones during pregnancy have many interesting aspects. Their synthesis and metabolism are the result of complex metabolic pathways encompassing activities in the fetus, placenta, and mother. Progesterone, estrogens, androgens and glucocorticoids all play important roles during pregnancy, from implantation to delivery. Focusing on selected steroid hormones in the peripartum period, we defined reference ranges measured using LS-MS/MS, a...

Smoking has many effects on human health and reproduction. Women are generally recommended to quit smoking before conception. Cessation improves fertility and helps avoid many health risks for the mother and the child and plays an important role in the future development and health of the offspring. We have decided to perform a study following changes in the production of steroid hormones in pregnant smokers and ex-smokers compared to non-smokers. In physiological pregnancies,...

Introduction: Postpartum depression affects 10–15% women after childbirth. There is no currently generally accepted theory about the causes and mechanisms of postpartum mental disorders. The principal hypothesis concerns the association with sudden changes in the production of hormones affecting the nervous system of the mother and, on the other hand, with the ability of receptor systems to adapt to these changes.Methods: We observed changes in ster...

The majority of pregnancy steroids originate in the fetal zone of the fetal adrenal (FZ). The data in the literature indicates that placental CRH directly stimulates the FZ. Despite the substantial alterations in the placental CRH production in late pregnancy, the predictivity of CRH for an estimation of term is poor. To sidetrack the expensive determination of unstable CRH, it may be expediential to use the FZ steroids. However, even these substances may not be optimal for pr...

Objective: Smoking during pregnancy could have impact on steroidogenesis, with more marked changes in smokers carrying boys as well as in their newborns. The aim of study was compared steroid hormones between non-smokers, ex-smokers, which stop smoking in the beginning of pregnancy, and active smokers.Method: We focused on changes in steroidogenesis in the blood of mothers in their 37th week of pregnancy and in mixed cord blood from their newb...