Disturbances in maternal steroidogenesis and appearance of intrauterine growth retardation at high-altitude environments are established from early pregnancy. Effects of treatment with antioxidant vitamins

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Abstract

Pregnancies at high-altitudes are influenced by hypoxia and oxidative stress and frequently affected by IUGR. However, a common thought is that early pregnant women visiting altitude have no major complications for gestation development, since IUGR is developed during the second half of pregnancy. Thus, using a well-characterized sheep-model, we aimed to determine whether long-and/or short-term exposure to high-altitude may affect maternal steroidogenesis and therefore embryo-fetal growth from conception. The second aim was to differentiate the relative role of hypoxia and oxidative stress by assessing the effects of supplementation with antioxidant agents during this early-pregnancy stage, which were previously found to be useful to prevent IUGR. The results indicate that both long- and shortterm exposure to high-altitude causes disturbances in maternal ovarian steroidogenesis and negatively affects embryo-fetal growth already during the very early stages of gestation, with the consequences being even worsened in newcomers to high-altitude. The supply of antioxidant during this period only showed discrete effects for preventing IUGR. In conclusion, the present study gives a warning for clinicians about the risks for early-pregnant women when visiting high-altitude regions and suggests the need for further studies on the effects of the length of exposure and on the interaction of the exposure with the pregnancy stage.

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Parraguez, V. H., Mamani, S., Cofré, E., Castellaro, G., Urquieta, B., De Los Reyes, M., … Gonzalez-Bulnes, A. (2015). Disturbances in maternal steroidogenesis and appearance of intrauterine growth retardation at high-altitude environments are established from early pregnancy. Effects of treatment with antioxidant vitamins. PLoS ONE, 10(11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0140902

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