Active clinical trials for "Fetal Growth Retardation"

The exact etiology of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) remains unclear but is known to involve immunologic/infectious factors. The thymus is one of the main organs involved in the development of the fetal immune system. The aim of this study was to explore the association between 3D fetal thymus volume (VOCAL) on ultrasound and intrauterine growth restiction by adding the 3-dimensional measurement of thymus volume to the routine fetal ultrasound scan at 15-24 week of gestation. Investigators performed a prospective clinical study in 100 pregnant women in their second trimester of pregnancy who attended the Fetal Medicine Unit of the Medicine Faculty of Karadeniz Technical University during the study period. Maternal age, gravida, para, BMI, blood pressure, gestational age, BPD, FL ,AC, EFW and fetal timus volume measured with VOCAL programme are recorded. For all patients routine clinical and ultrasound examinations were performed during pregnancy. Gestational age at birth, way of birth and newborn birthweight were recorded. The results were statistically compared in the SPSS 13.0 program. Student-t test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. ROC curve analysis was used for limit values. The data of patients with IUGR and without IUGR were compared. The ability of the thymus volume to predict the IUGR was tested using binary logistic regression analysis. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

To identify fetuses small for their gestational-age who have reached their appropriate growth potential from growth-restricted fetuses due to placental insufficiency is uneasy. Intra Uterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) increases the risk for indicated preterm delivery, neonatal mortality and morbidity. Therefore, improving the knowledge of the placental perfusion is essential to better identify and manage fetal chronic oxygen deprivation associated with placental insufficiency. Thus, the investigators propose to study placental microcirculation with a more efficient Doppler than conventional Doppler use in clinical practice. The Ultrafast Doppler is being able to map placental blood flow and could have potential impact in placental insufficiency diagnosis and prevention. Moreover, this Doppler could discriminate maternal and fetal vascularization. The hypothesis is that Ultrafast Doppler could help clinician to diagnose and manage preeclampsia and IUGR during pregnancy.

Normal growth and development of twins are important for the long-term health of the children. The purpose of this study was to empirically define the trajectory of fetal growth in dichorionic twins using longitudinal two-dimensional ultrasonography and to compare the fetal growth trajectories for dichorionic twins with those based on a growth standard developed by our group for singletons. This knowledge may lead to interventions that could minimize or prevent pregnancy and newborn health problems in the future.

Preeclampsia is a complication of pregnancy related to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, including fetal growth restriction and perinatal death. Several measures are used or under investigation (low-dose aspirin, low-molecular weight heparin, calcium, folic acid, among others) for the prevention of preeclampsia. Unfortunately, most high-risk women who could benefit from those preventive measures are not identified until late in pregnancy. Recent evidences suggest that the investigators could identify women at risk of developing preeclampsia using a combination of serum and ultrasound biomarkers in the first-trimester of pregnancy. This screening test needs external validation. A first-trimester screening strategy will strengthen clinical research on preeclampsia and will contribute to the development of strategy combining the prediction and prevention of the disease and its related complications.

Normal fetal growth is a critical component for a healthy pregnancy and for ensuring the health and well-being of infants throughout childhood and adolescence. One promising area of research suggests that changes in fetal soft tissue may be the earliest changes that occur in pathologic growth. Three-dimensional volume assessments may be used to detect changes in fetal lean mass, fat mass, and organ size that result from pathologic growth earlier than conventional 2D measures. This knowledge may lead to interventions that could minimize or prevent pregnancy and newborn health problems in the future.

The pre-eclampsia is a frequent pathology, concerning approximately 5 % of the pregnancies.The pre-eclampsia can evolve into severe maternal and\or foetal complications and is a major cause of mortality. The purpose of the study will to estimate the relevance of the serum markers sFlt1 and PlGF to predict the arisen of severe complications at these patients, what would allow to decrease the materno-fœtale morbi-mortality due to the pathology.

Pre-eclampsia and intra uterine growth restriction (IUGR) represent major complications for pregnant women, with a high related maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. It is now widely admitted that these pathologies, which can concern up to 7% of pregnancies, are in relation with hypo-perfusion of the placenta because of an early deficient trophoblast invasion and uterine vascular remodelling.Advances in ultrasound imaging now permit non invasive 3D volume and Doppler signal quantification using automatic acquisitions.Quantitative comparison of volumes and Doppler parameters between control pregnancies and IUGR ought to confirm the theory of UTERO-placental hypo-perfusion. This technique might allow an earlier prediction for IUGR. The aim of this study is to evaluate the interest of 3D Doppler quantification as a new screening tool for pre eclampsia and IUGR.

: In this Prospective longitudinal observational study, two hundred pregnant women with singleton pregnancy from 11 up to 13 weeks with history of intrauterine growth restriction in a previous pregnancy underwent ultrasound assessment of gestational age , ultrasound assessment of uterine artery pulsatility index, placental volume by 3D ultrasound and placental vascularization by 3D power Doppler (3DPD).

To evaluate the benefits of combining Doppler measurements of placental/fetal blood vessels with computerized cardiotocography (quantitative cardiotocogrpahy - qCTG) in the detection of fetal hypoxia (pH < 7.20) among late-onset growth restricted (SGR) fetuses

Need statement - a new way to distinguish between a healthy small fetus and a small fetus suffering from deprivation of nutrition and oxygen to prevent unnecessary induction of preterm birth and improve neonatal outcome. Aim - to characterize fetal heart rate variability (fHRV) based on fetal ECG in the normal fetus and in the fetus suffering from growth retardation to evaluate its value and applicability as a supplementary tool in fetal surveillance. Aim of current study - To evaluate the feasibility of NI-FECG from gestational week 20 and onwards and investigate if important factors as length and heart rate pattern affects repeatability of time domain and spectral analyses in fetuses.