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Biomedical subjects

M V Kulovich

Publications and source records attributed to M V Kulovich.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1985

Lung profile: sex differences in normal pregnancy.

The incidence of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is higher in male than in female infants. The lung profiles--lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratios, percent disaturated (acetone precipitated) lecithin, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylinositol--were obtained in amniotic fluid during 164 normal pregnancies of 30 or more weeks' gestation. The profiles were evaluated to determine any sex differences in fetal development of the surfactant components. According to regression analysis the L/S ratios for females reached 2:1 at 33.7 weeks, which is 1.4 weeks earlier than males. A similar trend was evident for disaturated lecithin. Phosphatidylglycerol first appeared at 34 weeks' gestation for females and 35 weeks for males. The rate of the increase in phosphatidylglycerol was higher in females than in males. Phosphatidylinositol began to decrease after 36 weeks for females and fell to levels below that of males after 37 weeks' gestation. All four indexes of the lung profile revealed a higher degree of lung maturity in female than in male fetuses during the last two months of normal pregnancy. This explains a higher incidence of RDS in male than in female infants.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1979

The lung profile. I. Normal pregnancy.

The lung profile run by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography is described, including the L/S ratio and the percentages of disaturated acetone precipitated lecithin, PI, and PG. Results show that the accuracy of this profile increases that of the mature L/S ratio value even further, while decreasing the missed predictions with low L/S ratios to only about 7%.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1979

Significance of phosphatidylglycerol in amniotic fluid in complicated pregnancies.

In normal pregnancy lecithin/sphingomyelin ratios correlate with gestational age. In complicated pregnancies biochemical maturation of fetal lung may be accelerated or delayed, depending upon maternal, fetal, or placental conditions. Surfactant contains other phospholipids besides lecithin, including phosphatidylglycerol (PG), the second major component of mature surfactant. Ninety phospholipid patterns in amniotic fluid were studied by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography. In uncomplicated pregnancies PG was absent until 37 weeks' gestation, then increased there after. In complicated pregnancies (pre-eclampsia, diabetes Classes D, F, and R, premature rupture of membranes) PG was identified before 35 (as early as 29 weeks' gestation. These results verify accelerated lung maturation in certain complicated pregnancies. No newborn infant developed respiratory distress syndrome in the presence of PG.

Amniocentesis↗
PubMed1978

Cesarean delivery in a gorilla.

A mature lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) in the Los Angeles Zoo had destroyed 3 successive infants. To avoid a recurrence, active intervention was instituted during its 4th pregnancy. The period of gestation was estimated by physical examination, radiography, and amniocentesis. Intrauterine growth was followed by serial ultrasonographic cephalometry. When fetal maturity was achieved, as determined by amniotic fluid phospholipid profile, the fetus was delivered by cesarean section.

Amniocentesis↗
PubMed1977

The relationship between accelerated pulmonary maturity and accelerated neurological maturity in certain chronically stressed pregnancies.

Two studies were done. In the first, 51 infants from high-risk pregnancies were evaluated for accelerated clinical neurological maturation. Eight infants had accelerated neurological maturation 3 or more weeks in excess of gestational age. In the second study, a sample of 25 infants with documented acceleration of pulmonary surfactant (lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio greater than or equal to 2 at gestational age less than or equal to 32 weeks) all infants showed accelerated neurological maturation (range 3 to 8 weeks) with the conditions studied associated with accelerated pulmonary maturation (for instance, retroplacental bleeding, prolonged rupture of membranes, placental infarction, severe toxemia, hypertensive disease, circumvallation, and amnionitis). Chronic retroplacental bleeding was associated with the most dramatic pulmonary and neurological accelerations.

Birth Weight↗