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Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology (CEOG) is published by IMR Press from Volume 47 Issue 1 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.
Original Research
Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in human midpregnancy amniotic fluid and risk of preterm labor
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1
Department of Surgical Sciences, 2Department of Health Sciences, 3Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies University of L’Aquila (Italy)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2010, 37(3), 193–196;
Published: 10 September 2010
Abstract
Object: This work stands as a pilot study in assessing the reliability of metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) as a marker for intraamiotic infection and preterm birth already in early pregnancy. Subject: 100 amniotic fluids taken at the Midwife Obstetrics and Gynaecological Clinic of the University of L’Aquila (Italy). Results: Our results show that MMP-9 is a sensitive marker of intraamionic infection (an important risk factor for preterm delivery) already in early pregnancy, because only women with a significant elevation were subsequently exposed to preterm birth. Conclusions: Early identification of women at risk of preterm birth is of important clinical significance. In- deed exposing women to deep diagnostic and therapeutic protocols could possibly reduce the incidence of preterm birth in the near future and have a positive impact on fetal prognosis related to unknown intraamniotic infection.
Keywords
Preterm birth
Metalloproteinases
Intraamiotic infections