Melatonin in Reproductive Medicine: A Promising Therapeutic Target?

Melatonin, mainly released from the pineal gland, also produced in the reproductive organs and cells, plays important roles in rhythms of the sleep-wake cycle, retardation of ageing processes, and antioxidant/anti-inflammatory functions. As a key mediator in reproductive systems, melatonin is participated in the reproductive process via regulating gamete and embryo development and influences reproductive diseases and pregnancy outcomes. The underlying mechanisms include epigenetic and other regulations, which are interesting for exploring new targets in the prevention and treatment of reproductive diseases. This review discusses the relationship between melatonin and reproductive functions and dysfunction, as well as potential clinical applications of melatonin in reproductive medicine. Notably, Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases (DOHaD) is closely linked to reproduction, this article is the first to review the new progress in studies on the possible relationship between melatonin and DOHaD.

[Design of obstetrical "potential severe disease" score and its application in 3269 pregnant women].

OBJECTIVE: To study the applicability and practicability of "potential severe disease" score in prognosticating severity of potential disease in late pregnancy and puerperal mother and newborn. METHODS: "Potential severe disease" score was designed based on the characters of obstetrical patients, and 3269 puerperal women were surveyed and the condition of mother and child were investigated after delivery. RESULTS: The mean rank of "potential severe disease" score in the group with severe illness (n=137) was extremely higher than that of smooth pregnancy group (n=3132, 2969.390 vs. 1576.630, Z=-18.052, P<0.01). The result indicated the score could evaluate the degree of illness. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the "potential severe disease" score was 0.926, the optimal cut-off point of score was 3, with sensibility 73.72%, specificity 92.21%. There was no significant difference in the mean rank of "potential severe disease" score between fetal distress group (n=507) and normal fetus group (n=2726, 1572.920 vs. 1646.400, Z=-1.498, P>0.05), therefore it indicated that the "potential severe disease" score had not the identification ability on fetal distress. CONCLUSION: Obstetrical "potential severe disease" score may be applied for obstetrics because of speediness, simplicity and better identification in evaluating the disease in late pregnancy.