1,721,098 research outputs found
S100B protein testing in pregnancy
Follow-up studies have shown that the vast majority of neurological abnormalities present during childhood can have a prenatal or perinatal origin. It is relevant, therefore, to investigate the timing of adverse insults in the search for measures of prevention. However, such knowledge is still incomplete and subject to debate. Until recently, clinical-laboratory assessment was based essentially on biochemical aspecific parameters, ultrasound and Doppler patterns, and the determination of blood pH and gases. However, the measurement of brain constituents may offer a direct indicator of cell damage in the nervous system. The S100B protein, a calcium-binding protein highly concentrated in the nervous system, appears to meet the criteria required of such a marker in prenatal and perinatal medicine for its reproducible, simple and sensible measurements. Results in high-risk pregnancies demonstrated that S100B concentration increased in amniotic fluid and in cord blood of fetuses with brain damage. In addition, S100B protein has been also usefully employed to monitor the effects of maternal-antenatal therapy, such as NO and glucocorticoid administration. It appears also to be relevant that a neurotrophic role has been hypothesized for the protein, which in fact exhibits in amniotic fluid, in cord blood and in placenta patterns of concentration related to the gestational age
S100B protein in biological fluids: a tool for perinatal medicine
The diagnosis of perinatal insults currently relies on adequate documentation of general medical and obstetric factors and on radiologic and laboratory assessments. The measurement of brain constituents such as S100B protein may offer an alternative and direct indicator of cell damage in the nervous system when clinical and radiologic assessments are still silent and has the additional advantage of providing a quantitative indicator of the extent of brain lesions. S100B protein has been measured by several immunoassays in biological fluids (i.e., cerebrospinal fluid, blood, amniotic fluid, and urine) from fetuses and newborns at high risk of perinatal brain damage. S100B protein in biological fluids increased at an early stage when standard monitoring procedures were still silent in the study populations that later developed brain damage. S100B concentration was also significantly correlated with the extent of brain lesions. S100B protein appears to satisfy the criteria for a marker for brain injuries in perinatal medicine: (a) simple to perform measurements with good reproducibility; (b) detection in a variety of biological fluids, possibly reducing perinatal stress related to testing; (c) possible use in longitudinal monitoring because of its 1-h half-life; and (d) well-established use as an early and quantitative marker of brain lesions/damage. Finally, because of the neurotrophic role putatively played by S100B, its measurement in biological fluids at pre-/perinatal ages makes it a candidate for the laboratory evaluation of brain maturation
S100B testing in pregnancy
Follow-up studies have shown that the vast majority of neurological abnormalities present during childhood can have a prenatal or perinatal origin. It is relevant, therefore, to investigate the timing of adverse insults in the search for measures of prevention. However, such knowledge is still incomplete and subject to debate. Until recently, clinical-laboratory assessment was based essentially on biochemical aspecific parameters, ultrasound and Doppler patterns, and the determination of blood pH and gases. However, the measurement of brain constituents may offer a direct indicator of cell damage in the nervous system. The S100B protein, a calcium-binding protein highly concentrated in the nervous system, appears to meet the criteria required of such a marker in prenatal and perinatal medicine for its reproducible, simple and sensible measurements. Results in high-risk pregnancies demonstrated that S100B concentration increased in amniotic fluid and in cord blood of fetuses with brain damage. In addition, S100B protein has been also usefully employed to monitor the effects of maternal-antenatal therapy, such as NO and glucocorticoid administration. It appears also to be relevant that a neurotrophic role has been hypothesized for the protein, which in fact exhibits in amniotic fluid, in cord blood and in placenta patterns of concentration related to the gestational age
Elevated S100B protein as an early indicator of intracranial haenorrhage in infants subjected to extracorpoteal membrane oxygenation
The aim of this investigation was to verify whether plasma S100B could be a useful tool in identifying which infants subjected to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) might develop intracranial haemorrhage (ICH). A case-control study of eight infants who developed ICH during ECMO was conducted. Plasma samples collected daily after ECMO insertion were assessed for S100B and compared with those obtained from eight infants supported by ECMO who did not develop ICH. Cerebral ultrasound and Doppler velocimetry waveform patterns in the middle cerebral artery (MCA PI) were also recorded at the same time as blood sampling. S100B blood concentrations were significantly higher in the group of infants with ICH 72 h before any signs of haemorrhage could be detected by ultrasound (ICH: 2.91 +/- 0.91 microg/L vs. control: 0.53 +/- 0.15 microg/L), reaching their peak at day 6, when cerebral ultrasound scan patterns were suggestive of intracranial haemorrhage (ICH: 3.50 +/- 1.03 microg/L vs. control: 0.66 +/- 0.27 microg/L) (p < 0.05, for both). The highest S100B levels were observed in the three ICH infants who expired during the ECMO procedure (3.43 microg/L, 4.0 microg/L, 4.12 microg/L, respectively). MCA PI values in the ICH group were also significantly higher, but only 24 h before any ultrasound pattern of bleeding was detected (ICH: 2.31 +/- 0.22 vs control: 1.81 +/- 0.24) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that blood S100B measurement could be a promising tool for the identification of infants at risk of ICH when imaging assessment and clinical symptoms of haemorrhage might still be silen
Effects of temperature on pre-analytical stability of S100B protein concentrations in urine of healthy full-term infants.
S100B protein concentrations in amniotic fluid are higher in monoamniotic that in diamniotic twins and singleton pregnancies
Circulating S-100B protein is increased in intrauterine growth retarded fetuses
To determine whether S100beta, an acidic calcium-binding protein previously demonstrated as a reliable indicator of a brain lesion, could be helpful in the detection of brain distress in intrauterine growth-retarded (IUGR) fetuses, we studied, by a case-control study, the correlation between S100B protein and the degree of fetoplacental blood flow impairment. Maternal and umbilical blood samples and placental tissue specimens were collected at delivery from IUGR pregnancies with normal (n = 10) or abnormal (n = 10) umbilical artery Doppler findings and from 40 uncomplicated pregnancies. S100beta protein levels were measured by means of a specific RIA, and flow velocimetry waveforms were recorded from uterine, umbilical, and fetal middle cerebral arteries. Overall mean S100beta proteins in umbilical plasma levels were higher (p < 0.05) in IUGR patients (121.8 +/- 70.4 fmol/mL) than in control patients (54.7 +/- 21.9 fmol/mL). IUGR fetuses with redistribution of blood flow showed the higher concentration of the protein (163.7 +/- 55.2 fmol/mL). Fetal S100beta concentrations correlated with middle cerebral artery pulsatility index (r = -0.536, p < 0.03) and with umbilical artery pulsatility index to middle cerebral artery pulsatility index ratio (r = 0.469, p < 0.03). No difference in the localization or intensity of S100beta staining in the placental tissues or cord between uncomplicated and IUGR pregnancies was found. This study provides evidence that circulating S100beta protein is increased in IUGR fetuses and correlates with cerebral hemodynamics, suggesting that it may represent an index of cerebral cell damage in the perinatal period
S100B modulates growth factors and costimulatory molecules expression in cultured human astrocytes
S100B is a Ca2 +-binding protein expressed in the nervous system. Increased levels of S100B in the extracellular space have been detected in several neurological disorders. We investigated the response of human astrocytes to micromolar chronic concentrations of this protein measuring the expression of some costimulatory molecules, such as CD137, CD137-L, CD40, CD40-L, the chemokine RANTES and two growth factors FGF-2 and TGF-β2. Our findings suggest that high levels of S100B in the brain parenchyma may modulate the activation status of astrocytes decreasing their neuroprotective role and modifying their interaction with microglia and other inflammatory cells. This effect may contribute to evolution of some neurological disorders
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