Fetus biochemical measurements

The biochemical parameters of myelination appear to be controlled in a coordinated manner. That is, the parameters we measured responded in the same direction and degree to a certain condition of growth. For example, the cyclic nucleotide phospho-hydrolase and incorporation of into lipids both were less active in cultures from the newborn mouse than from the 15 day fetus. In addition the developmental pattern of all of the activities measured occurred in parallel and were all highest at about the same growth period. This coordinated control suggests that they are derived from a central source, such as a single cell type (for example, oligodendroglia) of brain. 

Transdermal glyceryl trinitrate 5 mg for 16 hours each day has been compared with placebo in 25 mothers bearing intrauterine growth-retarded fetuses (86). It was applied from week 27 to week 35 of gestation until delivery. Three mothers were excluded from the analysis because they did not use the glyceryl trinitrate correctly. Placental flow, measured by Doppler, was improved by glyceryl trinitrate, and there was a better short-term neonatal outcome. Moreover, a biochemical marker of brain distress, the protein SIOOB, was normalized after glyceryl trinitrate, without an excess of adverse events in either the neonates or the mothers. 

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