Dataset Information

Phase I pilot clinical trial of antenatal maternally administered melatonin to decrease the level of oxidative stress in human pregnancies affected by pre-eclampsia (PAMPR): study protocol.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Pre-eclampsia is a common pregnancy condition affecting between 3% and 7% of women. Unfortunately, the exact pathophysiology of the disease is unknown and as such there are no effective treatments that exist notwithstanding prompt delivery of the fetus and culprit placenta. As many cases of pre-eclampsia occur in preterm pregnancies, it remains a significant cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Recently, in vitro and animal studies have highlighted the potential role of antioxidants in mitigating the effects of the disease. Melatonin is a naturally occurring antioxidant hormone and provides an excellent safety profile combined with ease of oral administration. We present the protocol for a phase I pilot clinical trial investigating the efficacy and side effects of maternal treatment with oral melatonin in pregnancies affected by preterm pre-eclampsia.

Methods and analysis

We propose undertaking a single-arm open label clinical trial recruiting 20 women with preterm pre-eclampsia (24(+0)-35(+6) weeks). We will take baseline measurements of maternal and fetal well-being, levels of oxidative stress, ultrasound Doppler studies and other biomarkers of pre-eclampsia. Women will then be given oral melatonin (10 mg) three times daily until delivery. The primary outcome will be time interval between diagnosis and delivery compared to historical controls. Secondary outcomes will compare the baseline measurements previously mentioned with twice-weekly measurements during treatment and then 6 weeks postpartum.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval has been obtained from Monash Health Human Research Ethics Committee B (HREC 13076B). Data will be presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.

Trial registration number

ACTRN12613000476730 (ANZCTR).

SUBMITTER: Hobson SR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3780337 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Phase I pilot clinical trial of antenatal maternally administered melatonin to decrease the level of oxidative stress in human pregnancies affected by pre-eclampsia (PAMPR): study protocol.

Hobson Sebastian R SR Lim Rebecca R Gardiner Elizabeth E EE Alers Nicole O NO Wallace Euan M EM

BMJ open 20130920 9

<h4>Introduction</h4>Pre-eclampsia is a common pregnancy condition affecting between 3% and 7% of women. Unfortunately, the exact pathophysiology of the disease is unknown and as such there are no effective treatments that exist notwithstanding prompt delivery of the fetus and culprit placenta. As many cases of pre-eclampsia occur in preterm pregnancies, it remains a significant cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Recently, in vitro and animal studies have highlighted the po ...[more]

PMID: 24056493

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Project description:Up to 11% of pregnancies extend to post-term with adverse obstetric events linked to pregnancies over 42 weeks. Oxidative stress and senescence (cells stop growing and dividing by irreversibly arresting their cell cycle and gradually ageing) can result in diminished cell function. There are no detailed studies of placental cell senescence markers across a range of gestational ages, although increased levels have been linked to pre-eclampsia before full term. This study aimed to determine placental senescence and oxidative markers across a range of gestational ages in women with uncomplicated pregnancies and those with a diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. Placentae were obtained from 37 women with uncomplicated pregnancies of 37-42 weeks and from 13 cases of pre-eclampsia of 31+2-41+2 weeks. The expression of markers of senescence, oxidative stress, and antioxidant defence (tumour suppressor protein p16INK4a, kinase inhibitor p21, interleukin-6 (IL-6), NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4), glutathione peroxidases 1, 3, and 4 (GPx1, GPx3, and GPx4), placental growth factor (PlGF), and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1)) genes was measured (quantitative real-time PCR). Protein abundance of p16INK4a, IL-6, NOX4, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxy-guanosine (8-OHdG), and PlGF was assessed by immunocytochemistry. Placental NOX4 protein was higher in post-term than term deliveries and further increased by pre-eclampsia (p < 0.05 for all). P21 expression was higher in post-term placentae (p = 0.012) and in pre-eclampsia (p = 0.04), compared to term. Placental P16INK4a protein expression was increased post-term, compared to term (p = 0.01). In normotensive women, gestational age at delivery was negatively associated with GPx4 and PlGF (mRNA and protein) (p < 0.05 for all), whereas a positive correlation was seen with placental P21, NOX4, and P16INK4a (p < 0.05 for all) expression. Markers of placental oxidative stress and senescence appear to increase as gestational age increases, with antioxidant defences diminishing concomitantly. These observations increase our understanding of placental health and may contribute to assessment of the optimal gestational age for delivery.

Project description:Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including pre-eclampsia, particularly in association with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS). While significant placental abnormalities are expected in pre-eclampsia, less is known about how lupus activity and APS in pregnancy affect the placenta. We describe placental pathology from a population of lupus pregnancies, several of which were complicated by APS-related thromboses, in which pre-eclampsia and other complications developed. We performed standard histopathological placental review and quantified neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in the intervillous space, given the recognised association of NETs with lupus, APS and pre-eclampsia.Pre-eclampsia, SLE and control placentas were scored for histological features, and neutrophils were quantified on H&E and immunohistochemical staining for the granular protein myeloperoxidase. NETs were identified by extracellular myeloperoxidase staining in the setting of decondensed nuclei. Non-parametric analysis was used to evaluate differences in netting and intact neutrophils between groups, with Kruskal-Wallis testing for associations between histological findings and neutrophils.Placentas were evaluated from 35 pregnancies: 10 controls, 11 pre-eclampsia, 4 SLE+pre-eclampsia and 10 SLE, including one complicated by catastrophic APS and one complicated by hepatic and splenic vein thromboses during pregnancy. Intrauterine growth restriction and oligohydramnios were observed in lupus cases but not controls. Significantly more NETs were found infiltrating placental intervillous spaces in pre-eclampsia, SLE+pre-eclampsia and all 10 SLE non-pre-eclampsia cases. The ratio of NETs to total neutrophils was significantly increased in all case groups compared with controls. When present, NETs were associated with maternal vasculitis, laminar decidual necrosis, maternal-fetal interface haemorrhage and non-occlusive fetal thrombotic vasculopathy.In this pilot study of placental tissue from lupus pregnancies, outcomes were more complicated, particularly if associated with APS. Placental tissue revealed marked inflammatory and vascular changes that were essentially indistinguishable from placental tissue of pre-eclampsia pregnancies.

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Project description:BackgroundPre-eclampsia is the most common complication occurring during pregnancy. In the majority of cases, it is concurrent with other pathologies in a comorbid manner (frequent co-occurrences in patients), such as diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes and obesity. Providing bronchial asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis, certain neurodegenerative diseases and cancers as examples, we have shown previously that pairs of inversely comorbid pathologies (rare co-occurrences in patients) are more closely related to each other at the molecular genetic level compared with randomly generated pairs of diseases. Data in the literature concerning the causes of pre-eclampsia are abundant. However, the key mechanisms triggering this disease that are initiated by other pathological processes are thus far unknown. The aim of this work was to analyse the characteristic features of genetic networks that describe interactions between comorbid diseases, using pre-eclampsia as a case in point.ResultsThe use of ANDSystem, Pathway Studio and STRING computer tools based on text-mining and database-mining approaches allowed us to reconstruct associative networks, representing molecular genetic interactions between genes, associated concurrently with comorbid disease pairs, including pre-eclampsia, diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes and obesity. It was found that these associative networks statistically differed in the number of genes and interactions between them from those built for randomly chosen pairs of diseases. The associative network connecting all four diseases was composed of 16 genes (PLAT, ADIPOQ, ADRB3, LEPR, HP, TGFB1, TNFA, INS, CRP, CSRP1, IGFBP1, MBL2, ACE, ESR1, SHBG, ADA). Such an analysis allowed us to reveal differential gene risk factors for these diseases, and to propose certain, most probable, theoretical mechanisms of pre-eclampsia development in pregnant women. The mechanisms may include the following pathways: [TGFB1 or TNFA]-[IL1B]-[pre-eclampsia]; [TNFA or INS]-[NOS3]-[pre-eclampsia]; [INS]-[HSPA4 or CLU]-[pre-eclampsia]; [ACE]-[MTHFR]-[pre-eclampsia].ConclusionsFor pre-eclampsia, diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes and obesity, we showed that the size and connectivity of the associative molecular genetic networks, which describe interactions between comorbid diseases, statistically exceeded the size and connectivity of those built for randomly chosen pairs of diseases. Recently, we have shown a similar result for inversely comorbid diseases. This suggests that comorbid and inversely comorbid diseases have common features concerning structural organization of associative molecular genetic networks.

Dataset Information

Phase I pilot clinical trial of antenatal maternally administered melatonin to decrease the level of oxidative stress in human pregnancies affected by pre-eclampsia (PAMPR): study protocol.

Introduction

Methods and analysis

Ethics and dissemination

Trial registration number

Publications

Phase I pilot clinical trial of antenatal maternally administered melatonin to decrease the level of oxidative stress in human pregnancies affected by pre-eclampsia (PAMPR): study protocol.

Similar Datasets

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