Increased spontaneous preterm births during the second wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in India.

OBJECTIVE: To compare spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) and iatrogenic preterm birth (IPTB) rates during both waves of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of the PregCovid registry of pregnant women with COVID-19 was performed at a dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Mumbai, India. The data of 1630 women were analyzed for this study between April 4, 2020 and July 4, 2021. Prepandemic data were analyzed and compared with pandemic data. Main outcome measure was spontaneous preterm birth rate. RESULTS: Preterm deliveries were higher during the second wave (46/329; 14%) compared with the first wave (82/807; 10.2%) of the COVID-19 pandemic (P = 0.065). Higher SPTBs were reported during the second wave than the first wave (12.5% versus 8.3%) (P = 0.03) as well as the prepandemic period (12.5% versus 10.5%) (P = 0.286). IPTBs were significantly lower in the pandemic period than in the prepandemic period (1.8 versus 3.3) (P = 0.012). CONCLUSION: In Mumbai, India, we found an unusual change in SPTBs during the 6 months of the second wave of COVID-19 compared with the previous 10 months of the first wave of pandemic and 1 year of prepandemic.

MEHP induces alteration of mitochondrial function and inhibition of steroid biosynthesis in MA-10 mouse tumor Leydig cells.

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a plasticizer that is widely used in manufacturing. Previous studies have shown that mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), the active metabolite of DEHP, has inhibitory effects on luteinizing hormone (LH)-stimulated steroid biosynthesis by Leydig cells. The molecular mechanisms underlying its effects, however, remain unclear. In the present study, we examined the effects of MEHP on changes in mitochondrial function in relationship to reduced progesterone formation by MA-10 mouse tumor Leydig cells. Treatment of MA-10 cells with MEHP (0-300 µM for 24 h) resulted in dose-dependent inhibition of LH-stimulated progesterone biosynthesis. Biochemical analysis data revealed that the levels of the mature steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR), a protein that works at the outer mitochondrial membrane to facilitate the translocation of cholesterol for steroid formation, was significantly reduced in response to MEHP exposures. MEHP also caused reductions in MA-10 cell mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and mitochondrial respiration as evidenced by decreases in the ability of the mitochondria to consume molecular oxygen. Additionally, significant increases in the generation of mitochondrial superoxide were observed. Taken together, these results indicate that MEHP inhibits steroid formation in MA-10 cells at least in part by its effects on mitochondrial function.

Preparation and characterization of nanocochelate by using phosphatidylcholine as lipid carrier for enhancement of permeability and bioavailability of rosuvastatin.

OBJECTIVE: Rosuvastatin (ROS) is a class of antihyperlipidemic agents belonging to the class of statins with poor permeability, which results in low oral bioavailability, i.e. 20%. The objective of the present study was to improve the permeability and bioavailability of ROS by developing nanocochelates using naturally biocompatible phosphatidylcholine, a type of lipid which is used as Ca2+ cations for the calcification process. SIGNIFICANCE: For the loaded ROS, the trapping method was used to build nanocochelates to boost the intestinal permeability of phosphatidylcholine and divalent choline is a calcium chloride cationic solution. METHODS: Nine different formulations have been produced and with varying lipid and cationic solution concentrations. The formulation of nanocochelates characterized by scanning electron microscopy, particle size, and zeta potential. Permeability studies have been conducted to determine the permeability improvement property of nanocochelates. The pharmacokinetic study was performed in Wistar albino rats to determine the bioavailability enhancement potential of nanocochlelates. RESULTS: The concentration of optimum lipid, calcium chloride was found to be 80 mg, 200 uL respectively which improve permeability by 3.44 times as compared to the marketed formulation. The in-vitro drug release over a prolonged period i.e.12 h. Which was substantially better than the traditional formulation of tablets. Nearly five fold enhancement in bioavailability was observed in case of optimized formulation as compared to the marketed formulation (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the use of natural lipid carrier by nanocochelates of Rosuvastatin was promising drug delivery approach.