Ghrelin is a newly discovered orexigenic peptide originating from the stomach. Circulating ghrelin levels reflect acute and chronic energy balance in humans. However, it is not known whether ghrelin also plays a role in energy homeostasis during fetal life. Forty-one small-forgestational age (SGA) and 34 appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) infants were studied in order to determine whether cord blood ghrelin concentrations were different in SGA infants compared with AGA infants and the relationship to anthropometric measurements at delivery. The cord blood ghrelin concentrations of SGA infants (means S.E.M.; 15·20 3·08 ng/ml) were significantly greater than of AGA infants (2·19 0·24 ng/ml) (P,0·0001). They were negatively correlated with the infants' birth weights (r= 0·481, P,0·0001) and with body mass index values (r= 0·363, P,0·001). The higher ghrelin concentrations were found in female infants (20·42 4·55 ng/ml) than in males (7·05 2·27 ng/ml) in the SGA group (P=0·042). These data provide the first evidence that cord ghrelin levels of SGA infants are greater than those of AGA infants and it is suggested that ghrelin is also affected by nutritional status in the intrauterine period.

The milk stored for 72 h at +4 °C and for 14 d at -20 °C did not maintain the same TAC levels as the fresh samples. This should be considered especially for sick infants who need more antioxidant capability in neonatal units.

Large amounts of IV fluid given to the mothers who were applied EA prior to the delivery affect their offsprings' postnatal weight loss via certain vasoactive hormones.

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Objectives Kynurinine (KYN) and its metabolites, which are released during the metabolism of tryptophan, an essential amino acid, have many important functions, such as cellular energy production, regulation of vascular tone, and regulation of the immune system. In this study, we aimed to detect serum KYN levels, which may be an indicator of KYN pathway activity, in idiopathic fetal growth restriction (FGR) and oligohydramnios cases whose pathophysiology is known to be affected by multiple factors, such as placental hypoperfusion, immune dysregulation, and maternal nutrition disorder, and to investigate their relationship with these common obstetric complications. Methods This cross-sectional case-control study was carried out in the antenatal outpatient clinics of Ankara City Hospital between July and December 2021. While the study group consisted of pregnant women with idiopathic isolated FGR and oligohydramnios, the control group consisted of low-risk patients who did not have any problems. The clinical features of the patients, such as age, body mass indexes, and gestational week, were recorded by measuring basic laboratory parameters and serum KYN levels. Results A total of 110 patients were included in this study. The patients were divided into three groups: FGR, oligohydramnios, and the control group. There was no significant difference between the patients’ ages, weeks of gestation, or body mass indexes. Serum KYN level was calculated as 57.8 ± 13.4 pg/mL in IUGR, 75.3 ± 10.8 pg/mL in oligohydramnios and 95.1 ± 13.3 pg/mL in the control group (p<0.001). Conclusions Serum KYN levels were lower in pregnant women complicated with FGR and oligohydramnios more prominently in pregnant women diagnosed with FGR than in normal pregnancies. The results suggest that KYN plays an important role in either the etiopathogenesis or the response to these two obstetric pathologies.