BACKGROUND Eclampsia is a preventable disease be prevented by making women aware of the avoidable risk factors during their antenatal visits and thereby decreasing the incidence of eclampsia and associated morbidity, mortality and perinatal outcome. Aim-To study the association of sociodemography as a risk factor for eclampsia. Objective-To compare the various parameters of sociodemographic risk factors (namely age, residence, education and socioeconomic status) between the eclamptic and the patients admitted for delivery with no complications. on 282 admitted women. This is a tertiary care hospital and its maternity service is a referral in the care of high risk pregnant women throughout the district. All women selected for the study were divided into two groups, cases and controls. Cases were the patients admitted to labour room with BP >140/90 mmHg, Urine Protein > + 1, with convulsions. Controls were the patients admitted to labour room with BP < 140/90 mmHg, Urine Protein negative, without convulsions. Their age, education, residence and socioeconomic status were compared and analysed. The X 2 test was used to determine levels of statistical significance wherever appropriate. RESULTS Majority of the cases taken into the study were from less than 20 years of age group and 21-30 years of age i.e., 44.68% and 51.77% respectively. High proportion of eclampsias 68.08% belong to rural area, only 31.92% belong to urban area. Majority of eclampsia (89.36%) cases were associated with high rate of illiteracy (89.36%) as compared to controls (47.51%), belonging to rural area (68.08%) and low socioeconomic conditions. Maximum no. of eclamptic women were from low socioeconomic class i.e., 70.92% from class V, 26.24% from class IV, 1.41% from class III and II each and no women from class I according to Modified B G Prasad Socioeconomic Classification. In our study statistically significant association was observed between eclampsia and risk factors. CONCLUSION Eclampsia is a preventable disease by making the patient aware of the risk factors which can be avoided and thereby decreasing the incidence of eclampsia and associated morbidity and mortality.

These results indicate that the presence and severity of periodontal disease seems to increase the risk for not only the occurrence but also the severity of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women.

Leptin, the ob gene product, plays an important role in the regulation of body fat mass and weight. In previous studies, it was demonstrated that leptin is detectable in human fetal cord blood as early as at 18 weeks of gestation and that serum leptin concentrations are significantly reduced in small gestational age newborns. In the present study, we investigated whether umbilical and maternal serum leptin concentrations correlate with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). In addition, we aimed to determine the relationships between leptin concentration in the maternal and cord blood. We studied 40 newborn infants (21 female and 19 male; gestational age, 38-42 weeks) and their mothers. Of the infants studied, 10 had IUGR. Serum leptin concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay. All newborns had detectable leptin concentrations. Leptin concentrations were significantly lower in newborns with IUGR and in their mothers (n = 10; 3.53 +/- 1.42 ng/ml, 6.75 +/- 1.47 ng/ml, respectively) than in infants experiencing normal growth and their mothers (n = 30; 5.58 +/- 2.98 ng/ml, 9.85 +/- 6.50 ng/ml, respectively) (p < 0.01 for newborns, p < 0.05 for mothers). There was no significant correlation between umbilical leptin concentration and maternal leptin concentration (r = 0.229; p = 0.155) in all study groups but, significantly, a correlation was observed in the group with IUGR (r = 0.736; p = 0.015). There were no significant correlations between both umbilical and maternal leptin concentrations and parity, delivery type and gestational age. There was a correlation between umbilical leptin concentration and birth weight of newborns (r = 0.383; p = 0.015) but no correlation with body mass index (BMI) of the newborns (r = 0.034; p = 0.834). Maternal leptin concentrations correlated with maternal weight and BMI (r=0.606; p=0.000, r=0.535; p=0.000, respectively). There was no correlation between maternal leptin concentrations and birth weight of the newborns (r=0.179; p=0.269) and with BMI of the newborns (r = 0.146; p = 0.367). There was no gender difference in leptin concentrations in the newborns (n=21; 5.50 +/- 3.37 ng/ml, for females; n = 19; 4.58 +/- 1.98 ng/ml for males) (p = 0.296). In summary, we have shown that IUGR is associated with a decreased leptin concentration in newborns and their mothers. The association between umbilical serum leptin and birth weight in this and other studies suggests a pivotal role of fetal leptin in regulating fetal growth and development.

INGEC, M., BOREKCI, B. and KADANALI, S. Elevated Plasma Homocysteine Concentrations in Severe Preeclampsia and Eclampsia. Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2005, 206 (3), 225-231 Homocysteine is an essential amino acid required for the growth of cells and tissues in the human body. Maternal hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with a number of placenta-mediated diseases such as preeclampsia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the plasma level of homocysteine and its association with severity of preeclampsia. A case-control study was performed with 32 mild preeclamptic patients, 25 severe preeclamptic patients, 16 eclamptic patients and 34 controls. Maternal plasma homocysteine concentration was measured prospectively at antenatal period by high-performance liquid chromatography. There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics between the study and control groups. Mean plasma levels of homocysteine in women with severe preeclampsia (16.7 ± 10.1 μ mol/l, mean ± S.D., n = 25) and eclampsia (16.5 ± 9.6 μ mol/l, mean ± S.D., n = 16) were significantly higher than those in mild preeclampsia (7.7 ± 2.4 μ mol/l, mean ± S.D., n = 32) and controls (6.7 ± 1.6 μ mol/l, mean ± S.D., n = 34) (p < 0.0001). It should be noted that plasma levels of homocysteine are not significantly different between mild preeclampsia and controls. In conclusion, plasma homocysteine concentrations are increased in severe preeclampsia and eclampsia, but not in mild preeclampsia.

The study was designed as a descriptive one to reveal the beliefs and attitudes of the women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy. It was carried out at the university hospital in Erzurum between July 2005 and March 2006. The data were collected through semistructured in-depth interviews with 31 women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy. The data obtained were evaluated by content analysis. These evaluations revealed five themes concerning the beliefs and attitudes of the women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy: (1) feminine identity, (2) husband/family relationships, (3) sexual life, (4) menopause, and (5) relatives' opinions. These findings about cultural beliefs and attitudes of the women undergoing hysterectomy will enable health care providers to provide culturally sensitive and comprehensive care to women; it is also expected to enable health care providers to instruct women to avoid unnecessary delay of hysterectomy.