Ariel Iván Ruiz Parra

Maternal Serum Meteorin Levels and the Risk of Preeclampsia.

Background Meteorin (METRN) is a recently described neutrophic factor with angiogenic properties. This is a nested case-control study in a longitudinal cohort study that describes the serum profile of METRN during different periods of gestation in healthy and preeclamptic pregnant women. Moreover, we explore the possible application of METRN as a biomarker. Methods and Findings Serum METRN was measured by ELISA in a longitudinal prospective cohort study in 37 healthy pregnant women, 16 mild preeclamptic women, and 20 healthy non-pregnant women during the menstrual cycle with the aim of assessing serum METRN levels and its correlations with other metabolic parameters. Immunostaining for METRN protein was performed in placenta. A multivariate logistic regression model was proposed and a classifier model was formulated for predicting preeclampsia in early and middle pregnancy. The performance in classification was evaluated using measures such as sensitivity, specificity, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. In healthy pregnant women, serum METRN levels were significantly elevated in early pregnancy compared to middle and late pregnancy. METRN levels are significantly lower only in early pregnancy in preeclamptic women when compared to healthy pregnant women. Decision trees that did not include METRN levels in the first trimester had a reduced sensitivity of 56% in the detection of preeclamptic women, compared to a sensitivity of 69% when METRN was included. Conclusions The joint measurements of circulating METRN levels in the first trimester and systolic blood pressure and weight in the second trimester significantly increase the probabilities of predicting preeclampsia.

Pruebas de Evaluación del Bienestar y Madurez Fetal

Intrapartum fetal monitoring: New Concepts. Invasive prenatal diagnostic procedures. Fetal Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Value of lamellar bodies and phospholipids in the Diagnosis of Fetal Lung Maturity.

Determinación de valores de referencia para la microtécnica de fagocitosis y muerte intracelular de Cándida álbicans en un grupo de población sana en Bogotá

The function of the phagocytic cells is an efficient mechanism for non-specific protection against infectious agents and elimination of dead or senile cells. Cells of the innate immunity, such as neutrophils and macrophages, are responsible for this process. Neutrophils are particularly effective at the initial phases of infections caused by Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria. Macrophages participate in late stages of inflammation phagocyting bacteria and cellular debris. The techniques for evaluation of the phagocytic capacity are laborious, require large blood samples and need